President Trump has suggested that television networks that disagree with him should be shut down.
The president directly criticized television network NBC, who reported early Wednesday that Trump, in a meeting in early July, had told some of his advisors that he wanted to increase the United States’ nuclear weapon supply by nearly ten times what it is right now.
The president strongly objected to this, attacking the network on Twitter later that morning.
Fake @NBCNews made up a story that I wanted a “tenfold” increase in our U.S. nuclear arsenal. Pure fiction, made up to demean. NBC = CNN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 11, 2017
The president did not stop there, later attacking NBC and other networks in a second tweet.
With all of the Fake News coming out of NBC and the Networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their License? Bad for country!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 11, 2017
Trump’s attack on the media is nothing new, as the president ran a political campaign that focused heavily on attacking the mainstream media. Many of those who voted for him supported this theme as well.
What makes this newest attack on the media surprising is that while Trump has been critical of the media in the past, he has never previously said that a news organization should be shut down. Moreover, NBC is the network which was the home of his reality show “The Apprentice.”
Trump is not the only official to deny NBC’s report. Others in government have rebutted the story as well.
Mattis: NBC nuke story about Trump “absolutely false.” Defense secretary says “This kind of erroneous reporting is irresponsible,” statement
— Lucas Tomlinson (@LucasFoxNews) October 11, 2017
The president threatening to try and shut down media outlets could have damaging effects for our country. It is similar to Richard Nixon and Watergate. In this video, I dive further into the topic.
Over the course of his campaign and his current presidency, the president has been consistent in showing a high intolerance for those that disagree with him.
The president’s anger at news media will be an interesting matter of discussion in the coming weeks.
This story is being done for my midterm exam in my Multimedia Storytelling class. I had the opportunity to speak with student Jazmine Hawes about her experience as well.
Overall, this exam has been an amazing experience. I even made a snap story to highlight it.
Between the World and Me 