Though a great deal of the United States shares a healthy amount of suspicion over the portrayal of politics in corporate media, those who support Donald Trump have taken it to the extreme.
For months now, reporters covering the Trump campaign have shared feelings of fear and dread concerning attending rallies. Trump made it a regular part of his stump speech to draw attention to the media huddled in the pen, accusing them of not covering his large crowds and misleading the world about his campaign.
Right on cue, Trump’s devoted supporters would boo and hiss at the members of the media, shouting slurs and insults. Things got so extreme that one of Trump’s most prominent reporters Katy Tur had to be escorted by Secret Service for her own safety.
Last week, a Trump support “accidentally” left a sign behind at the media pen which included a crudely drawn swasktika next to the word “media.”
Last night, pundit Jim Acosta was heckled during a live CNN broadcast. When he gave the protesters the attention they wanted, one angry voice said he looked like a woman.
Elsewhere that same night, reporter Rosie Gray posted video of two Trump supporters referring to the media as “lugenpresse,” or “liar press,” a Nazi term.
While skepticism toward media is healthy and rational, intimidation of the free press impedes the nation’s freedom.
Watch.
What it’s like to do a live shot with Trump supporters yelling at you. pic.twitter.com/tLltoUPXsF
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) October 22, 2016
