As the election season wears on, it appears that Donald Trump does not have the stamina that is required of a presidential candidate. Although he caught fire during primary season and appeared unstoppable as he plowed through more seasoned candidates against all odds, his disdain for political correctness has finally caught up to him. After insulting a Gold Star family, calling for the assassination of his opponent, and claiming that the current regime is behind ISIS, his momentum is at a standstill, and he’s grasping for something to get him back on track.
Trump’s latest claim, a claim that is dangerous for the principles behind America, is that the press doesn’t actually have the freedom to write the things that they have written about him. His actual tweet was this, “It is not ‘freedom of the press’ when newspapers and others are allowed to say and write whatever they want even if it is completely false!” Mr. Trump appears to be confused about what freedom of the press is, and it’s dangerous for a presidential candidate to be trying to control the media in the way that he is.
All of this stems from an article written by the New York Times about why it may not be possible for Trump to breathe life back into his dying campaign. In short, the article talks about the way Trump treats his advisers and how he feels that he would have been better off not following the advice of any of his advisers since his strategy was working so well. In response, he tweeted, “I am not only fighting Crooked Hillary, I am fighting the dishonest and corrupt media and her government protection process. People get it!” He is simply unable to see how his words and actions have led him to where he is today.
CNN’s Dana Bash saw what Trump was saying about the media, and she released a statement of her opinion on the situation. Ms. Bash argues that Trump is acting out because he is not used to having his life be so public. Before he became a presidential candidate, he was a public figure, but he was still a private citizen. This allowed him the freedom to operate in ways that he no longer can as the potential leader of the free world. She believes that it is the job of the press to question candidates motives, actions, and words as a way of ensuring a democratic society.
It isn’t yet clear what Mr. Trump thinks about Ms. Bash’s comments, but I think he’s made it fairly clear how he feels about this type of opinion. With all of this in mind, it will be interesting to see how Trump changes up his strategy as we move closer and closer to election day.