Enough. This tyrant is now following the steps of the Weimar Republic. Congress, please stop this madness. Invoke the 25th Amendment.
Trump better not do what he threatened. The American public will not tolerate this despicable fascist affront to their freedom of press.
Time for the chicken cowardly Republicans to remove Trump from office. He has disobeyed the Constitution. Where is Congress? Hiding under a pile of lies? Unpatriotic the lot of them. They are despicable and they are over.
4
Around the world and through history, this is the trademark act of a dictator. Control or even abolish the press.
1
Could we have one segment of each day when the baby in the White House is forced to take a nap and the screeching,screaming ,and threatening to nuke
Every one who won't kiss his fat moronic butt ,can not be heard.
Congress if you don't think he's getting worse you're wrong, Dead wrong.
Impeach this nightmare!!!!NOW.
2
If the NBC story is true, Mr. Trump was being hypocritical in threatening to punish North Korea for its nuclear-arms buildup. Again, if the story is true, NBC has nothing to worry. It can dismiss Mr. Trump’s threat to challenge its license as yet another of his bullying tactics. As we all know, bullying is second nature with this president.
Every time he pillories the media, he warms the hearts of dictatorships in the world where it is the rulers who decide what is fit to print or air. Mr. Trump may please note that his threatened move against media, if carried out, may boomerang on him. Remember Richard Nixon, who tried to stifle the media when it started exposing the Watergate scandal which he was deeply involve in? The fate that befell Richard Nixon could befall Mr. Trump if he acts on his threat against NBC.
1
In order to end the Trump debacle decent Republicans must unite and lead the way.
The GOP must recognize/accept that Trump is a disaster in need of solution by way of his resignation by any route possible.
All their leaders can end the ongoing deceptive/dangerous/ damaging Trump actions/attitudes taking place in more than one venue.
They must focus on the 2020 election with 20/20 eyesight.
Trump damages the country, its citizens, and also the GOP.
He has a low approval rating and is a world-wide embarrassment.
Is the GOP now able to look down the road. It is this failing that has put them and us in our current untenable position.
May the GOP and its best leaders note the following:
Do not become an enabler of the Trump dictatorial juggernaut.
Fall on your sword with grace, sincerity, decency, and dignity.
You will be the better for it, as will we all.
By your patriotic action the GOP and the country you save will be your own. Spare us from any further embarrassment in the world's eyes.
Make this necessary sacrifice NOW.
Prepare for a worthwhile/reasonable campaign in 2020 with a decent/ honest candidate that the GOP can support with dignity.
Take this wise/practical course of action ASAP.
Time is obviously of the essence, given current events.
The behavior of the House of Trump is NOT normal - apply the label of abnormal to all.
Avoid applying the same label also to the GOP leadership.
Attend to your patriotic duties as a necessity for us all.
2
Perhaps trump is in negotiations to sell out the presidency (resign for a price), and his trump-like behavior is a ploy to drive up the price.
2
Nice nice to see him cite Nixon as a model of presidential conduct..maybe trump is going to become a decent human being like tricky dick
2
Imagine threatening to shut down Rush Limbaugh for disseminating 'fake news'!
2
Hello? Anybody home? Are there any members of the Republican House and Senate paying attention right now who consider themselves patriots? Or is every last one of you happy as a pig in slop, basking in your fearless leader's attempts to overturn the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and dismantle democracy? Do you hate this country and its citizens that much? Or is it really just all about you and your billionaire donor friends?
We're at a crossroads. Republican elected officials: it's in your hands, and it's time for you to stop sitting on them...but you have to actually care about the future of the United States of America. Do you?
2
So Trump has decided to defy his oath to support the United States Constitution by flagrantly trying to surpress the First Amendment. He doesn't like how they report about him, but that is because the truth hurts his feelings. He is the greatest promoter of “fake news” and the media is pulling back the veil to show him for the fraud he is.
5
Time for impeachment plain and simple.
1
Trump wants to shutdown parts of the press, the same approach taken by Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin and a number of other dictators in the last couple of centuries. This unquestionably would be a violation of the First Amendment and he could be charged with treason! If, and when, that is done he definitely would be impeached. Now, there is both a good and a bad side to this mess. The good side is that Donald Trump, the liar and cheater that he has proven himself to be, would be gone and would most likely even end up hurting his primary focus in life and that is his business contracts which relate solely to his money machine. The bad part is the Vice President, another liar, would automatically be made President. This would not be good as it would take another impeachment proceeding before he is also gone but maybe then there could be another Gerald R. Ford who could help us thru this mess and who most likely would also lose to his competition in the next Presidential election.
2
The "media" has turned their broadcast licenses into political weapons. They no longer "report" they attack. Facts take a backseat to an editorialized narrative. As political entities the "media" should be treated like any other political group and not be allowed to hide their partisan attacks under the guise of news.
Most specifically, FOX “News.”
4
Trump does not understand the Constitution and the freedom of press it affords. He is not in a position to defend the Constitution because he does not understand it and does not want to do so. Exercise the 25th Amendment please.
4
ENOUGH! Congress, when will you act to remove this unfit man from the office of the presidency? How much does he have to destroy before you choose to act? Can you Republicans not see that he is destroying your party?
Trump's threats are ample reason to remove him. He is making his problems our problems.
4
Trump must be the most disrespected president in US history. The man, quite frankly, is outrageous.
4
Enough. These tweets are symptoms, not news.
The man is unwell.
Report that. If you dare.
9
So we leave a mentally unstable person in the most powerful position in the world and remain silent? It is not enough until he has been removed.
2
We are starting to think of Trump as a yapping snarling chihuahua, all bark and no bite. But when you become complacent and turn your back, that chihuahua will sink his teeth into your hide.
3
Considering everything that was reported on early morning TV, it is very apparent that Congress must evoke the 25th Amendment.
Also, someone should read the Constitution to that person in the White House. His aides are becoming more and more disgruntled with him and that says something.
3
He is more bark than bite, sadly. We don't need NBC.
The president who professes love for the 2nd amendment apparently doesn't give a rip about the 1st. My god people, how did we get here?
8
The so-called "news' media believes that it above accountability. They are beginning to learn otherwise. The citation of unnamed sources for the vast majority of the negative coverage of the Trump administration should raise red flags with the authorities. This is not news - it is propaganda for the Democrats and liberals. Propagandists should not be granted licenses to broadcast their opinions as "news". The liberal bias of NBC, CNN the NYT and WAPO is so patent that these organizations should be completely ignored as news sources.
The unnamed sources are White House staff. The man runs the leakiest ship of state because he leads like the lying grifter bully that he is: no one can trust him so he inspires no loyalty. Thank God that the press continues its work in covering this administration's actions.
2
I don’t think you understand how News reporting works. The reporting has been extraordinarily good. You just don’t want to believe he and his cronies are as bad as they are. No President has trashed the dignity of the office as quickly as this one. Unamed sources are necessary to get the truth out and to protect the identity of the sources. This is not made up stuff. Read or reread All The Presidents Men and it will show you how reporting like this works for us all.
1
Another threat, wow that’s news. Who is listening?
2
Did Trump make the statement or is it fake news.
Left wing or right wing papers should have their licence revoked if they publish fake news.
People rely on papers publishing the truth.
How terrifying. And who, exactly, are we going to trust with the business of determining truth? The Free Press, with all of its varied imperfections, is the bedrock of democracy.
7
Fake news to Trump is any news he does not like , news that does not kiss his ring. I hope he does try to stifle the First Amendment as the Supreme Court needs to review the sigficance of Trump’s blatant censorship. Too, the high court can have a look at reasonable gun control to slow down the slaughter. Trump has 1/3 of the country behind him. Time for the 2/3s majority to try to hold the country together like his baby sitters are attempting to control his madness in the White House.
6
License? I think the First Amendment precludes a licensing requirement for newspapers, or at least it used to until the current regime took office. But I wouldn't be surprised if Trump thought there would be one. If it went to court and he lost (no longer a certainty with Gorsuch on the bench), would he start yelling "Fake Supremes"!
1
Any network that advertises drug ads all day and night deserves the most unholy and unconventional of Trump-signature credibility demolitions (left, right and centre). They are the most irresponsible corporate citizens in America. Just because the law doesn't prevent them, they still decide to peddle drugs on tv.
FoxNews censored too? I doubt it.
2
Trump is free to challenge a licence but, really, this says more about him than NBC.
4
Trump's threat to NBC is consistent with his modus operandi of intimidation and elimination. The man does not know the meaning of cooperation. It's "my way or by God you'll pay." Fortunately, the American press is too diversified and strong to have to kowtow to any one individual or group. So far, we've not been able to do anything about it, but at least we are getting a clear view of Donald Trump's peculiar brand of insanity. Unfortunately, the world is also watching.
See:
RevolutionOfReason.com
TheRogueRevolutionist.com
5
Smoke and mirrors from a tin horn tyrant. Sounds just like Hugo Chavez, Watch what he does and forget what he says.
9
The American public will not tolerate the President's attempt to squelch the press. Such a move is blatant fascism and against our Constitution.
8
Apparently, the American public is tolerating this tin-pot dictator. That he is sitting in the Oval Office is an affront to our constitution.
5
It is a sad day when the very foundation of our fledgling democracy is threatened even more and that threat of and by a big centralized government so feared by the founders is coming to pass. Whatever one thinks of Jefferson's hypocritical weaknesses we can be sure this despotic engagement of the mechanism of big government to muzzle the press would turn his stomach to the extent it would twist right out of his body. The audacity of a man who swore to defend and protect the constitution who instead treats it with the same respect a slum lord treats a lease of tenants he wants to ouster.
Where and when will this disrespect end. When will we once again be allowed the quite enjoyment of our freedoms from this would be could be despot? Free from tantrums befit of a spoiled man child who thinks he's the emperor? He is a barely elected official with a temporary position. He is not there by royal bequeath as a result of a death in the family. In my entire life I have not seen the total disregard of the very spirit of America as is represented in this embodiment of arrogance befitting an age of kings, queens, serfs and dictators. I long for the day this perversion of democracy ends and he goes back to harassing his tenants and stops being a Putin wannabe.
10
The U.S. is far from "fledgling", and has not been since two world wars ago.
Let's stop whining about Trump and get some positive action going by all the rational millionaires and billionaires who read the New York Times and can't stand Trump. Let's pony up a substantial legal fund aimed ultimately at getting our lazy Supreme Court to declare the 2016 Presidential election null and void. We either work to get rid of Trump or he will work to get rid of us while teasing Senor Kim into lobbing a nuke over LA. When we deal with the crazies, we have to be a little crazy ourselves.
9
Staffing the courts with Federalists is a leap toward his (and far right republicans) control of a free press, women's reproductive choices, religion choice, of racism defense (gerrymandering, voter i.d, prisons as profit making industry), and the expansion of corporate culture.
This has been the plan since Obama took office - the congress rejected his court picks, leaving the positions open until a republican president was installed so they could stack the courts. These shameless, deceitful people couldn't care less about the intent of our Constitution, it's all about control.
8
If we had a Congress with any moral authority or genuine concern for our freedom they would strenuously objects to threats such as these by our dear leader. But I do not believe that we will see any action from the cowards in Congress, much to the detriment of the future of democracy in the US.
9
This is what Mr. Trump said: "it’s frankly disgusting the way the press is able to write whatever they want to write, and people should look into it." What 'people' is he talking about? I can think of some people that normally look into things and expose them to the public. They are called 'the press'! The people I think he is talking about are his own propaganda enforcement agency. This threat against Free Speech is dangerous and un-American. It is yet another confirmation that he is unfit for this high office.
6
It is time for conservatives to stop making excuses for Trump's inflammatory and egregious remarks.
Much of what he spews is ludicrous and inflammatory-- but affronts against the Constitution or threats of nuclear war must be taken seriously. Even if he is a senile old man or overgrown spoiled child he is still President. He needs to be called out not just by the Left. The world is jeapordy.
He has a following, It may only be a third of the US population but it got him elected the first time and could again. Critical thinking is not a strength displayed by his base...they are dissatisfied and angry and eager to believe anything that fits into their worldview. They are suscepitible to progaganda, as evidenced by the impact of Facebook fake news etc. We need strong voices sympathetic to the concerns of Trump voters who draw the line at the dismantling of constiutional rights and the threat of nuclear war.
8
The ridiculous attack on NBC News by President Trump with his situational interpretation of the First Amendment comes just in the nick of time. It gives NBC something to talk about – other than why NBC News actively tried to kill stories about Harvey Weinstein’s sexual predations.
1
Isn’t the isn’t the truth of the matter important to the wWeinstein Democrats?
NBC made of the story; it is, in fact, fake news. With freedom of expression and the press does come great responsibility to be fair and accurate otherwise. It’s just propaganda.
Citizens understand the accusation “fake news”. Especially more times than not, what is reacted to from the mouth or tweets of President Trump turns out to be more truthful than the follow-on reporting. I need mention only the bugging of Trump Office, unmasking of citizens without cause, the corrupt and weasel of an FBI Director in Jim Comey.....to name but a few...oh, and the whole Russian ploy is a waste of millions originated by a dossier that, apparently, the FBI had a hand in paying for if not preparing. These lies and smears will make great campaign material in 2020 for President Trump’s re-election.
How about policy issues? Trump is advancing a conservative agenda though the swamp of Federal Agency recalcitrance, nominating terrific law-followingg judges. He has consistently advanced improvement of Obamacare which the Weinstein Democrats reject, tax reform which the Weinstein Democrats reject—or insist on no cuts “for the wealthy” when 90 percent of taxes are paid by the top 10 percent of taxpayers.......on the policy front, stories of Trump’s defeats are “fake news” with the voters that will count.
You're just wrong. And you're going to hate it when you end up living in a totalitarian state.
When Trump says that something is fake news he just means that he doesn't like the coverage. Please clear the wax out of your ears and the sleep out of your eyes and start noticing what's right in front of you.
Also, you should probably have someone edit your posts before you put them up.
8
Islander abuses the English language in much the same way his revered leader does. No amount of editing, proofing or revision will improve his thinking or his meaning. Your advice is well meant, but futile.
3
If the Republican Party wants to survive they should remove our maniac president via the 25th amendment.
7
Good for POTUS. NBC has long ago jumped the shark with their open hatred of our President. This is the network of Brian Williams , Lawrence Odonnel. Joy Reid and Joe and Mika, all out of the closet proud POTUS haters, calling for the invocation of the 25th amendment. NBC needs to be investigated because they openly collude with radical leftists forces that would bring down our President and perhaps our country. Stay tuned.
Fine Mueller can take a look at NBC as well as Fox News, Breitbart and anyone else that publishes conspiracy theories, engages in slander, with no facts/proof. Above all I think it is important that when a story Trump calls fake news is published by any media source that other papers or TV that report the same story also have additional evidence/facts/sources if possible. beyond the original publication’s sources. Many of the stories the president does not like are word for word reports of his tweets or an interview he has given. Sometimes he forgets he has said something; in those cases a replay of his own words should be sufficient to show the validity of the story, provided there is no editorializing in the news story. I also hope that the president and his press secretary will curtail their attempts to humiliate reporters if what their story says is deemed valid by evidence. At any rate, we need to have a free and responsible press or the American people will not know about what is going on in the White House since it never does releases on items like Kushner’s temporary security clearance or Tillerson, Sessions, and McCain, etc., being under fire from Trump for policy differences. Over time it will be helpful if Trump can learn protocol , laws for how things occur in Congress for example, even the fact that his presidential powers do not permit him to jettison constitutional rights.
NBC quotes Trump and his staff verbatim. FAKE news??? Nope. NBC daily requests members of this White House and this President to appear on the Network to defend or argue or present their case when ever they want. Yet Trump would rather pretend the news is one sided. This faux outrage from Trump and the fools that blindly follow this totalitarian view of the free press is beyond all reason and a mortal danger to the future of democracy as we know it.
I'm glad you brought up FCC licenses, Mr. President. Fox News, a network which is owned by a foreign national, Rupert Murdoch, spreads lies and falsehoods on a daily basis, some of them originating in Russian propaganda mills. Thanks to Fox, a significant portion of Americans (enough to sway an election) now believe that former President Obama was not an American citizen; that Hillary Clinton ran a child sex ring out of a Virgina pizza parlor; that voter fraud is rampant; and that the majority of violent crimes in this country are committed by illegal aliens. Their continuous campaign of disinformation and outright lies fuels racial hatred and deepens division. If any news outlet is bad for America, it's Fox. Let's talk about pulling their license, too.
10
Malignant narcissism is an incurable mental disorder. That's the story that needs telling.
8
Trump’s threats with the NFL and news media meet criteria for dictatorship..
6
Lock him up! Lock him up!
4
NYT are idiots, as proven again and again. President Trump did not threaten that HE would challenge the FCC licenses of the super monopoly NBC Universal. He asked a hypothetical question "at what point is it appropriate to challenge their licenses?" Stop with the misleading headlines. Maybe we should bring back the Fairness Doctrine, long opposed by the liberals, that would ensure equal time for both sides of any controversial coverage which slants toward one political viewpoint or candidates. Careful what you ask for limo libs!
The Fairness Doctrine was repealed by a Republican-appointed FCC. The Democrat-controlled Congress tried to get it put back in, but then your beloved Ronald Reagan vetoed that effort. Thanks Reagan!
3
One thing we can count on is that cons , despite controlling the presidency, the congress, and most of the courts will paint themselves as victims. Looking at the numbers Trump’s base of 1/3 of the voters are calling the shots for the 2/3s majority of voters who did not vote for Trump. He likes the power of the presidency to demand a costly investigation of his claim that Obama tapped his phone in Trump Tower, that 3-5 million illegals voted for Hillary on the popular vote, that there was rampant voter fraud,. When the claims prove to be false, he persists in being the sole claimant that he is correct in his charge and everyone else is wrong. This license business with NBC is heading in that direction. He only is in the White House 75% of the time, and it would be helpful if he could force himself to focus on issues like repeal and replace healthcare, tax reform for non-wealthy citizens, and aiding, not attacking the victims of Hurricane Maria.
Wouldn't it be nice if NBC's sources would step up and challenge Trump's claim of Fake News with factual testimony? Unless they do, Trump half wins this one and this country continues its rapid transformation from imperfect democracy to fascist state. As people lose their nerve, Trump grows stronger. I am worried for this country like never before, and I've been worried since Sputnik passed over my childhood home.
5
“Broadcast licenses are a public trust,” said Tom Wheeler, who until January was chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, appointed by President Barack Obama. “They’re not a political toy, which is what he’s trying to do here.”
"They're not a political toy" quote Tom Wheeler...really? Then what is it exactly Mr Wheeler is doing?
Mr. Wheeler is no longer in office. He is indicating the licenses are not toys for Trump to use politically to bash NBC and others for stories he does not like. Trump’s problem is he lies, some 1100 times since January, so he is not trusted by most of the country. Over and over he is content to be a gutter fighter and is always looking for ways to punish perceived opponents. I hope he does try to take on the free press as he can expect a backlash from the majority of voters that would equal the civil war the firearm brandishing cons will wage if anyone thinks of modifying their Second Amendment rights. Trump is playing with fire.
"All told, the Trump administration has reduced funds for the navigator program by 41 percent, to $36.9 million, from $62.9 million last year. Among the states hit the hardest, according to data provided to Congress by the administration, are Georgia, down 61 percent; Michigan, down 72 percent; New Jersey, down 62 percent; and Ohio, down 71 percent."
The Trump administration's sleight of hand works again. While the blustering threat to a symbol of the First Amendment like NBC is certainly worthy of note, the chances of Trump's taking away the freedom of the press are slim. Meanwhile, I have just read Robert Pear's chilling coverage, in several pieces, of the horrifying, quiet, and efficient dismantling of the Affordable Care Act. The quote above is from an article that quotes dollars and cents in state after state. These "navigator programs," which I didn't even know about, are non-profit groups, set up by the states, to guide people through the process of choosing health care. With the open enrollment deadline approaching, Trump has reduced the funds in some states as much as 89%. These groups are folding, they are laying off staff, millions of people will be affected, and Trump will then be able to say, "The ACA is self-destructing." Write to your congressmen!! Make noise!! This is just one example of the silent revolution that is undercutting every aspect of our lives.
5
Don't we have sufficient statements & actions from DJT to that clearly demonstrate that he is not the least bit interested in protecting & defending the Constitution?
Trump's mind is not on the job. His mind is pre-occupied with the latest slight. It is downright unseemly for a man of wealth & POTUS to boot to be so thin-skinned (sub-basement level sense of self-worth) & downright petty.
4
The enduring support he receives from his organized base is the most disappointing.
Hope, anger, or disbelief will not lead us out of this mess. We need organized action in 2018.
2
The notion of revoking licenses for NBC stations is patently absurd. Unless they repeatedly commit felonies, it's not going to happen. Serious FCC enforcement of licenses went out the window when the number of television stations skyrocketed, and licenses were no longer viewed as a privilege.
So Trump is talking nonsense, as he so often does. When he makes threats that are meaningless, you can treat them as meaningless or you can treat them as a sign that Trump is off his rocker. Treating them as meaningful and as possibly being implemented strikes me as irrational. If he threatens to capture the moon and throw it at his enemies -- which is about as likely as his licensing threat -- is a sign of insanity, and is not a threat that should be seriously weighed. Let's use our common sense.
2
The day we cease to be Trumpland and decide to become again the United States of America, that will be the day we regain the respect of the world.
That decision needs to happen very soon indeed.
3
I grew up with the teaching that history has a way of repeating itself. Are we now reliving the 1930's in Germany, here in the United States? When you don't believe it can't happen is when it sneaks up on you.
4
This threats also happened in Venezuela. And look where the country is now.
2
After watching the nightly news on CBS, NBC and ABC in about equal amounts, I guess it is time to favor NBC for a while. The three network news and the PBS Newshour have been a lifelong connection to our country and the world.
2
Are we distracted yet? This is just to get our attention of the Mueller investigation and Russia's child in the White House. He'll quit soon, we hope. The damage he is doing will take decades and longer to fix.
2
Single best way for the media to handle this president is to simply stop covering anything he is doing. Ignore press conferences. Stop publishing anything that is a tweet. Cover the Congress. Cover Pence. Cover Tillerson. Just stop. Ghosting the president may be the best way to play his game.
3
While the liberals were riding high under Obama, many were not overly exercised about the deplorable methods on display through opposition media outlets. Now that the national shoe seems to be on the other foot it is customary for liberal media to play fast and loose with news reports of the hard and soft variety. I suppose there is some fair reporting out there, but we are in a heat not light phase in a country that seems to believe we don't have anything worthwhile in common. This country elected a fox; but it seems the little foxes are spoiling the vines.
dt does not understand, or more dangerously he does , the first Amendment of our Constitution.
Does Congress?
Do our representatives understand the importance of a FREE press?
Do our "representatives" have any,
1
"It’s frankly disgusting the way the press is able to write whatever they want to write and people should look into it."
I think President Trump might have missed the memo: we did look into it, and enshrined freedom of the press into law in December 1791.
2
One can simply go online and register any complaint online on the station public record.
The press also owes us honesty. Airwaves are part on the nationsl patrimony. Permits to earn a licenses are predicated on the awardees being good stewards on behalf of the American public.
From where I seat I see both sides involved in personal vendettas. How about good objective journalism, or is this too much to ask in exchange for the use of something that belongs to all of us?
1
It is a Live Reality TV show for Donald Trump, the Republican Congress are the Executive Producers of the show. Liability must go to the Producers too.
Come 2018 we can change these clowns that is only possible if we really care about the country and disagree with the message we are sending to the world.
It is not just a 1st amendment issue with Trump and NBC, but it is the whole outlook of Donald Trump policies whether Domestic or Foreign, his dealings/interactions with his senior staff and the juniors who are left to hang trying to cover for his lies such as the statement by Donald Trump that the US is the most taxed nation in the world to name a few. Donald trump is the machine which constantly churns out ‘Fake News” and as one of his supporters proudly claimed that they have their own facts.
When we have many sets of facts Truth becomes the casualty and people who gets their news/facts from social media such as Facebook et al, the result is catastrophic.
Nuclear Weapons are not one item that we should be looking towards multiple facts. There should only be one fact. We have been reducing the numbers of Nuclear Weapons for a long time but the lethality of the same is much more potent than ever before. With these weapons pin-point accuracy is not needed. If Trump uses on DPRK, we would be sacrificing the two nations, our friends South Korea and Japan whom we are trying to save. Think about them before trump decides to annihilate DPRK.
2
So reading the comments, most feel it's ok for networks to create stories and report them as news? What has happened to news integrity ? No sense of honesty is a basic requirement?
You can't defend President Trump because he just doesn't have a filter. However we should expect better from NBC.
1
I'd have more sympathy for President Trump if he instead threatened to repeal the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Clinton-Era deregulation legislation which helped consolidate 50+ media companies into 4-6 partisan, pro-Establishment media conglomerates.
Want to get the Mainstream Media's attention, Mr. President?
Threaten to break up their oligopoly.
1
Tax cuts are supposedly the great motivator for Republicans in the House to sit on their hands if not outright obstruct the investigations into Russian meddling in our election. I'm not buying that narrative based on the Paul Ryan, Kevin McCarthy confab in the summer of 2016 when these two guys and their pals were caught on tape laughing about Russia releasing Podesta's emails and swearing to god that Roerbacher and Trump are being paid by Russia. I suspect this close knit club is likely complicit in Russia Gate on some level, hence their effort to suppress the Russia investigation from the get go by getting Devin Nunes do their dirty work and to continue to support his efforts to impede even after he formally withdraw from the investigation. (BTW Devin Nunes has a large and lucrative liquor distribution deal in Russia). In the meantime as our president threatens to unleash a nuclear war these guys would seem to be more concerned with covering their own tracks.
3
It's a habit.
Every morning before work, I open up my digital copy of the Times, see Trump's name and immediately think,
Ready, Camera, Action!
Cut, it's a take.
What are the ratings?
And this is our president of our United States.
Can the production, please.
2
Maybe NBC should use the power of the media to reduce Trump's exposure on the news. We need to stop listening to all the noise, and instread focus on the signal.
Right now there is no viable signal coming from the the White House so we don't need to listen to any i'd the the noise.
2
It is altogether possible that the media really did fake the report about Trump wanting to increase the nuclear weapons stockpile. The quality of reporting in the United States has been terrible, ever since the media consolidated ownership in the 1980s and 90s. If the media did fake the report, then Trump would have a lawsuit against NBC for defamation, provided that he can show malice. The media needs to be aware that there are limits to what it can and cannot print.
2
More and more each day, Donald Trump believes he has the power of the dictators he admires, continuing the dictatorial powers he still maintains in his real estate empire. Hopefully the Republicans in Congress will put him out of business as our President - the sooner the better for our country.
4
Since we’re gettin’ all un-constitutional here, could we include an amendment barring people with a background in the entertainment industry from serving in public office? Seems they have tendency toward histrionics and a talent for making decisions that are bad for the country. Had this been in place in the 1980’s, perhaps we wouldn’t be where we are now?
4
What is now needed is a thorough definition of the following terms -
"High Crimes and Misdemeanors".
Let the debate begin ......... and soon.
22
I'm always careful not to slander or libel anyone as a matter of principle and because one of God's Commandments states that we shalt not bear false witness against others. With that in mind, I have reserved my criticism of others except when I feel people will be hurt by someone or the nation as a whole will be hurt by the person or group. With that said, let me state something that has become glaringly apparent to me; Don Trump is reflexive and driven by instinct and not thoughtfulness. He seems to lack the filter we all possess that determines what thoughts will be verbalized and which ones will be forever unknown to others. I have experience with mental illness in the most irrational example. I am not a psychiatrist, psychologist, or other professional trained and educated in psychology, but on rare occasions, I can recognize insanity so bad that anyone would say "He's crazy". Sometimes it's so bad we all know it. This is one of those times.
36
If we need further proof of the President's mental unfitness for office, please read the new book, The Dangerous Case If Donald Trump, a compilation of essays on the subject by some of this country's pre-eminent psychiatrists and Psychologists. They believe it is theirs"duty to warn" our country about the dangerous current White House Occupant who has the nuclear codes.
This book ought to be mandatory reading for increasing our understanding of exactly how dangerous and dire our country's safety is.
It is written for the lay person and while I'm certainly not in the business of advertising books, as a mental health professional myself, I urge readers to inform themselves fully about these expert's opinions of the consequences of Congressional inaction-- catastrophe.
Senator Bob Corker has sent citizens a warning and stated that all that stands between us and nuclear war are Generals Mattis and Kelly. Each day we survive this presidency is reprieve from what could be inevitable nuclear war if his power goes unchecked. Chilling is much too banal a word to use to describe the peril we face.
2
@Patrick:
Well stated, Patrick. I respect your morals vis-à-vis not overtly denigrating anyone. Even so, I don't consider stating the Truth to be pejorative, but rather vital for the health of one and all . . . and expressly so when it comes to the behavior of our nation's leaders.
Ergo: Trump is a reckless manchild utterly devoid of maturity, driven by acutely advanced narcissism, and with presumptive access to the nuclear launch codes I greatly fear the post-apocalyptic we'd ALL face, rendering any notion of an organized society for many decades following dead on arrival.
SOMETHING must be done about this loose canon before it's too late for not only our nation, but for mankind.
1
Can we all get some rest here? Please take away his licence to disrupt and cancel this ridiculous side show! The whole thing induces angst.
26
Democracy and freedom of speech are taking are unscheduled siestas, hopefully it won't be a permanent vacation.
8
Führers have nebulous beginnings. Are we sure that's not what we're allowing to happen?
26
Trump is quoted:
“It’s frankly disgusting the way the press is able to write whatever they want to write and people should look into it ...."
"The press should speak more honestly.”
It would be most interesting if the press would attempt to follow-up and clarify which news source Mr. Trump regards as "honest?" Breitbart? Fox? Washington Times? What is the template for honesty in news? Who gets Mr. Trump's crown for truth-telling?
25
I just purchased a book for my son. "20 Lessons on Tyranny." The truth is, I could just read the paper to him.
25
Congresspeople, what is it that you are waiting for, before taking action against this obviously unstable, dangerous president? If you're collectively worried that you will be abandoned by the folks who voted for trump, and subsequently for YOU, then you need to reexamine the fact that people are willing to register and/or vote in larger numbers this coming election. And that includes a great many who are against trump and link YOU to his continued power as he tears into our democracy. Want to keep your cushy jobs? Then do YOUR job!
24
Trump is sounding more like a dictator ever day.
27
Threatening to censor a news organization with extreme prejudice, threatening to jail a former election competitor, these are the actions of a Nazi leading a totalitarian regime.
At what point do we say, "Enough!" and begin impeachment proceedings?
24
With virtually everything falling down around him, failure after failure, and a couple of investigations that may incarcerate him or a family member:
at what point is Trump considered a flight risk?
I personally wouldn't mind if he successfully fled the country, but we shouldn't lose Air Force One to the Russians.
17
It might be a small enough price to pay.
Ha! Are you kidding? He’d fly one of his own planes because it has his name on it.
How can Trump possibly uphold his oath to "...Preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of the United States..." , when he certainly has no idea of, nor comprehension of the very contents and meanings of the document, AND when he is in fact the enemy attacking the constitution?
16
Parliamentary systems can be unwieldy with their constant need to form coalitions to govern But boy could we use a motion of no confidence for this president And a call for new elections!
14
Media also has a responsibility of not reoprting opinions as news and fake news.
5
Here is the thing about free press. It's impossible to get every story perfectly right all the time. To demand that from the press shows that Trump may lose his IQ contest with Tillerson.
10
Agreed, but with a story as big as this, they need to be extremely certain about it.
I sent the following notice to my Congressional Representive and Vice-President Pence. Pass the word on!
I am notifying you as a registered voter, that I consider President Trump to be a clear and present danger to us and the world.
I believe he is unfit for office, and requires immediate 25th Amendment removal or impeachment. This is based on his behavior, conduct, ethics, threats, statements and instability.
These same concerns have been expressed publicly by:
Senator Corker’s public statements
National Security professionals
Congressional members
Leadership of our Armed Forces
Cabinet members
Members of the Free Press
Mental health professionals
Nuclear access professionals
Professional scientists and researchers
Ethics authorities
Judicial authorities
My fellow citizens
We are all seriously concerned and this matter requires immediate action. You already possess the information. The Democrats began the paperwork after his election. As you have not yet taken action, I can only assume that you require permission. I give mine.
This is a national and international crisis and your immediate response is now required.
Thank you.
50
@River Angel:
Perfect.
And a welcome rare voice of sanity from my home State of Arizona . . .
2
The grownups need to take over. Are there any on Congress?
10
Trump is a wannabe dictator who poses a real threat to American democracy. More than ever we need free and responsible media such as NBC to keep him in check.
20
Instead of bashing the president in perpetuity, how about following the home town Yankees?
1
With this fool, it is grief every day. DACA, NAFTA, the AFC Act and any other thing that catches his eye on Fox News that day. The Republican Congress is an embarrassment. What is it these so-called people stand for?
16
We delude ourselves if we believe Trump has knowledge of any amendment to the Constitution, save one: the second. When are the members of Congress and his own cabinet going to consider a Constitutional path toward mitigating the damage this man has wrought with his erratic, vindictive and authoritarian ways--before he gets us and the world into a nuclear conflagration?
17
NBC is not licensed. Stations that are affiliated with NBC have licenses. If trump does not know about or like the First Amendment, it is time for him to resign. Nixon used the same threats against stations owned by the Washington Post at the time of Watergate.
16
One reason why we have the 2nd amendment is so that we can protect ourselves against those who seek to take away our rights (including freedom of the press) which is protected under the 1st amendment. I hope all Americans understand that Trump's threats concerning NBC and others is a threat to us all.
10
OK, Trump obviously disregards, if he doesn't oppose outright, the First amendment. What's next, that silly ban on torture of American suspects at home, followed by rounding up all Americans who dare oppose President Oaf?
13
So the license of Fox News should not be taken away? The President of Lies has the best insight into the truth!
19
Like a toddler walking in a china shop. Sad for America.
15
Add ingrate to the list of Trump’s faults. He made big bucks for the Apprentice, a fake show about business Now he’s angry that NBC has real news.
20
And what comes out of his mouth is the truth??
12
He wants Putin’s dictatorial powers so bad he can taste it.
19
Mueller is getting closer.
18
I wonder if Mattis will deny that Tillerson called Trump a moron? We need to trust Mattis - but why would others in the room report Trump's comments differently.
Is this a set up of some sort. Hard not to be paranoid when you are constantly having to react to Trump's exaggerations and blatant falsehoods to distract from all the actual destruction and pillaging he and his cronies are pulling.
9
Priceless from a guy who uses INFOWARS, Brietbart and Fox News as his sources of information. It wasn't long ago that a study was published that concluded that people who regularly watch Fox News know less about current events than people who don't regularly watch any news programming at all. And it's only gotten worse with wild west style internet conspiracy theory outlets that lead to people firing guns in pizza parlors because of extreme right wing propaganda garbage.
18
Trump will say and do whatever he can get away with. Unfortunately, it's up to the Republicans to set some limits. But 2018 cannot come soon enough.
11
Trump's supporters are all for free speech, so would not agree with him restricting it. Or would they?
This is a very disturbing turn of events, and I thank the New York Times for its steady, careful reporting on it.
14
Trump must go--either by the 25th Amendment or by impeachment. It's either him or us.
21
Trump, you have lied over and over again throughout your life. I dare you to go after the press for reporting on your megalomaniac shenanigans on nuclear arsenals and North Korea.
I welcome an investigation in our courts. The evidentiary hearing will turn you inside out and bring you to your knees bawling like a baby. You are our worst disgrace, ever. Your Harvey Weinstein-styled wake-up call will come, sooner or later, and your enablers will rush to get on the right side of history, leaving you very much alone.
15
That’s an absurd Weinstein analogy
No Elias—it isn’t. They are both men who used their power for personal reasons without regard to others. Weinstein is getting his comeuppance and Trump will receive his.
1
Trump is such a liar, his election to be president should be revoked. "It is not fair to the public"- to use his very own words.
18
This isn't China, Russia or Saudi Arabia Mr. President. Oh wait those are the countries that invest in Trump businesses currently and prior to the election either directly or through their agents. Let's not forget that the Saudi supported and aided Bin Laden was the man who brought 911 to NY akilling more people than at Pearl Harbor. Freedom of speech stands strong! Threats are unacceptable.
12
Empty threat (as usual). Networks don't have "licenses." The affiliates do.
10
A question is not the same as a statement. one, ends with a question mark and the other, a period. Go back and re-read his entry.
When the president of the US asks a question, it carries a lot of power behind it. It is not the same thing as a private citizen asking a question, because the president has the power to bring about change in our country and in our daily lives. New York Times reporters know how to read and write as it is apart of their job description.
6
I've got to hand it to Trump. I really doubt he means what he says, but it's a shame Obama never had this kind of chutzpah when he was dealing with the right-wing media.
5
Obama could not have had this kind of chutzpah...He had to worry about rabid racist GOP-ers, KKK, and Neo Nazis...and protecting his family. He walked a very fine line. While trump, a crazy, corrupt, old, entitled, elitist, entitled, billionaire, white guy can get away with this kind of outrageous behavior, Obama had to worry that if he was not literally lynched, he would be figuratively lynched...and he was anyway...without even having this kind of chutzpah. Just by existing, and being a smart (black) guy.
14
They were trying to destroy Obama...they lied about and questioned everything he said. They abused him and disrespected him when he reached out to them...doubt chutzpah would have worked. It might even have endangered his life.
16
You mean well but off. Obama is a distinguished man, a A constitutional lawyer in Larry Tribes classes. Outstanding character rise from a living and smart white mother and caring grandparents. He has unsurpassed humanity, complex thinking and rose even and wit the sadness of his disappointing father.
He’s among the best people ever in politics. Yes a fabulous black man who gave 8 years in service to the US with great unimaginable sacrifice.
10
When will the members of the cabinet and the VP invoke the 25th?
16
Trump is the nuclear bomb. But no one has the courage to disengage his detonator. Where does that leave us?
9
Here is my challenge to Mr Trump:
Can you go even one day without threatening someone or some organization?
Two days?
A week?
No...I don't think you can.
16
If sources in the White House speaking off the record or on condition of anonimity lied to reporters it simply suggests that the feeling inside the administration is that this president is incompetent and needs to be stopped. That's hardly a news flash.
8
I want to know Trump's Law School Aptitude Test score, not his I.Q.
It's pretty clear that broadcast licensees have due process rights which can't be avoided if the FCC wants to take away any licenses. First a licensee has the right to a hearing before the FCC, and if they ruling goes against them the broadcast licensee has a right to sue the FCC, including the right to ask the Federal judge for a preliminary injunction staying any attempt by the FCC to take away a license.
In order to successfully do a "stealth" license revocation where the judge would not get to know a President's animosity toward a broadcast licensee, everyone who is part of the plot to punish the licensee would have to keep their mouth shut. Of course Trump shot off his mouth and as a result in defending the license, the licensee's lawyers would be able to bring Trump's statements into evidence.
Trump has such a low I.Q. he doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut.
15
Trump never attended law school. Whether he therefore had a LSAT score is questionable. He expected his older brother, now dead, to take over the leadership of Trump Inc. He also has older half relatives who are lawyers and are far more intelligent then he.
I doubt he ever took the LSAT. I am positive that he had ringers take his classes in college and this was how he managed to graduate-also by his father giving big donations. But there is no photographic or any other probative material, as in the 60's, there was only paper, pens and pencils all which fall apart and pencil even becomes all but impossible to read. I don't think any of the papers he was alleged to written nor tests he claims to have taken are extant anymore. They were trashed with probably all other non computerized student material.
So: NO LSAT, if he ev3en had taken one. People working in his line of real estate in which they inherit their positions and titles don't have to "prove" much of anything.
5
Is there no one in the White House administration or his extended family willing to attempt to reign in America's national embarrassment?
10
rein in. As with the "reins" on a runaway wagon . I don't know how many of these minor mistakes of English language words that are "homonyms or, like rein or reign are "Homophones" and sound alike causing much confusion are created by plain spelling errors or are computer errors. Computer spellers can make such but tend to have a minor ability to figure out a words meaning by it's placement.
In this case, reign-to rule, is cl;arly (that error is just "fat finger")the wrong word and rein, referring to pulling on straps to slow runaway horses before a disaster ensues, seems correct.
2
how about this....
It's a hard reign is gonna' fall
apologies to Mr. Zimmerman
Why does any Media publish their opinions what Trump tweets each day? Just stick to to whatever nonsense he tweets each day which will be written proof about his daily lies.
2
At what point do we finally remove this petty little man from office?
17
Sounding and acting more and more like Hugo Chavez every day........
13
Hi, I'm Donald Trump. I have freedom of speech, and you don't.
16
time to replace trump
12
This means cancelling the Donald Show?
6
Spoken like a true authoritarian.
I don't what's worse; That Trump says these things or that his supporters whole-heartedly believe that established news outlets are "fake," and out to get him. But I do know that in this era of alternate facts, which conservatives have been cultivating for more than a decade, the divide between political poles aren't going to get any closer.
8
The local SF Bay Area NBC station has been broadcasting live, and updating us on the latest wildfire situation. It is a tragedy, in many cases irreversably affecting lives and communities and NBC has been providing an invaluable community service.
Mr. Trump cannot distinguish between service, and disservice. His is a disservice, tarring and feathering while spreading spiteful disinformation. It is tragic.
12
There is an unhealthy symbiosis between Trump and the media. Trump tweets, the media pounces on the tweets, and Trumps moves onto the next topic. The tweets serve Trump's purposes by firing up the base, and they serve the media's purposes by piquing interest. The only way to break the chain (and this may be impossible) is to stop reporting on the tweets. I have seen no formal government policy that has come from the tweets. Relegate the tweets to the entertainment section.
6
Agreed. The tweets are not news, they are entertainment.
2
Remember days past when NBC used to do "White Papers" on controversial subjects... now would be a wonderful time to re-introduce that format, starting with an investigation of Trump's attempts to intimidate not only the press but anyone who disagrees with him.
It's time for the networks to attack and not sit back on their heels... we have an authoritarian madman as President.
21
Learning the word "métier" -- for me, the only positive effect of the Trump Presidency so far.
4
NBC is a mess, Trump is a mess...
The license to broadcast will not be removed from a network. That will not happen. Not this time. Trump is playing to his base.
However, NBC is simply a disaster, and it has been for a long time.
At some point it might make sense to bring all networks through again...
Just to see if they deserve the license.
1
these networks are private shareholder owned corporations- they don't have a license from the federal government - and Trump has zero power to do a single thing to retaliate against them for telling the truth about him.
Sorry Trump - we live in a democracy- free press? Remember that quaint little part of America
6
Huh? What network are you talking about? What does "mess" and "disaster" even mean? Where are the specifics?
I've been watching NBC and MSNBC pretty consistently for several years now and yes, they've had some issues, especially the relentless obsession with Clinton's emails while handling Trump far less aggressively. But since the election, when the Fourth Estate realized it failed in doing the reporting necesary to alert the public of the dangers of electing Trump, it's roared to life and been firing on all cylinders. NBC, CNN, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and many other outlets have been doing outstanding journalism in exposing the true "disaster" to which you should be referring that is the Trump presidency. This latest story by NBC is absolutely vital to the future of this country in exposing his dangerous ignorance. How can alerting us to this threat be a disaster?
And "just to see if they deserve the license"? Who decides? What are the parameters? Where does the First Amendment say freedom of the press must be "deserved"? It's unconditional, period. This kind of thinking is unconstitutional, unamerican, and dangerous. The true disaster is that Americans are falling for the treasonous lies of an ignorant, mentally unstable con-artist of a wannabe dictator.
8
Hello! Networks don't have licenses. Nothing there to revoke.
The networks' only "license" to report about the White House is laid out in these words: "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of the press." Thanks to the 1st Amendment, the press is demonstrating that the only Amendment DJT needs to worry about is the 25th.
1
Trump only thinks, let me say this again, he barely think of the constitution. The republican only think about the constitution when it comes to the right to bear arm. They will fight it to death, no pun intended, to the death of many. Free speech, God forbid that's allowed. That might works in a private corporation or a communist country, aka Russia but not in open society that the founding father of this country envisioned.
4
It's fascinating watching a serial liar implode whenever he thinks others are lying about him. Thank you Founding Fathers for putting freedom of the press and free speech under the protection of the First Amendment. How did you know that we would end up electing a demagogue?
15
This man needs to be legally removed from office immediately. Democrats (and honest Republicans) should be pushing for impeachment every day.
11
Attacking a free press is one of the early tactics of fascism.
Fascism /ˈfæʃɪzəm/ is a form of radical authoritarian nationalism,[1][2] characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition and control of industry and commerce.
17
Does this so-called president’s ignorance of the Constitution know no bounds?
16
The net effect of Trump's continual bombast, flagrant disregard of the rights conveyed under the First Amendment, not to mention the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Fourteenth, Amendments, not to mention the provisions of Article One known as the Emoluments clause, has been to desensitize the media and the rest of us with his daily onslaught of fascist idiocy. That is the technique of all despots. He must be removed.
18
republicans remains silent - whats the first amendment to them ? they have the second.
One to of two aint bad
I'm nauseous
6
Somebody remind him that he is President of the USA, not the USSR.
8
. . .and that as such is the servant of all the people not the boss of the people.
Once again, evidence that Trump has not read the Bill of Rights. He is a tyrant that Congress must remove!!!
13
This this fake president thinks he the despot of some little third world country. It's time to pull his plug.
10
What is the truth here? Did Trump actually say what the article claims or not? Trump's record on truthfulness doesn't inspire much confidence in his version of the story. Is there a credible source who can speak on the record to confirm or deny the story ? SecDef Mattis said that Trump didn't say it. Anyone else?
2
There were three different sources. I think that's fairly solid.
TRUMPUS seems to think we need to delete the first amendment, and repeat the second one twice. Someone should look unto that military school his father sent him to. They don't seem to have taught American history. Alternatively, he received too many blows to the head at some point.
7
When Truth is Malleable and "President "Trump says he's Infallible, we, the People, are dwelling in a Shadow, somehow beyond Understandng. It amazes me, an 80 year old Average man, that this self-proclaimed Sociopathic Personality Disorder has garnered a "legitimate" following and holds the Elected Oval Office. Meanwhile, we are living in a Time bereft of philosophy which seems to hold the depth and strength of understanding and Healing. The Power of Commandments and mandates seem shakeyor shaken. The Historical Jesus has been relegated to Myth or Metaphor in the minds of the Many. That we are under a "Leadership" that is so blatantly insidious seems, indeed, at least to me, to be tragic. I call our state of being SOCIOPATHETIC.
5
Fakery and usury are Trump's primary business calling. He uses Freedom of Speech to his advantage and then wants to take it away when he's criticized. The logic of small minds.
12
The bottom line is that Trump is a pro-nuclear weapon guy and he considers a nuclear war just an exciting, movie-like event. This individual lived all his life between golf courses and luxury apartments. What does he know about famine, killing fields, child suffering and destruction?
19
In the past I ran a small, family-owned business which employed the owner's son. His nickname was "bloat", because he walked around all puffed-up and displayed his extreme ignorance whenever he spoke. If I worked there now I'd rename him "Trump".
14
Many Americans became enraged, when the notion, that Russia had cyber-bugged Democratic Party operatives during the 2016 election, popped up.
Now, elements of the major media, are chortling with glee, because NBC effectively bugged a meeting at the Pentagon.
You can't defend this double standard - either bugging the machine of government is good, or it is not good. We need to make up our mind.
1
Peter Zenger: talk about false equivalency! Why would you say NBC "bugged" a Pentagon meeting? Reporting a story relayed by sources who attended the meeting is not bugging. Also, an American newspaper reporting on the American government is not in least like a hostile foreign power electronically bugging an American candidate in an American election, trying to influence the outcome to bring a Russophile into power in America.
16
Actually, we can totally defend this "double standard" which is not a double standard at all. One is a foreign power interfering and spying on our election process which is not good. The other is FREEDOM OF THE PRESS which is good and absolutely protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution. "We" don't need to "make up our mind" about two radically different things that have nothing to do with each other. But it appears you may need to make up your own mind as to whose side you're on.
3
Your comment is very thoughtful and clearly explains the weakness in Peter Zenger's comments. Unfortunately, he will not understand what you are saying as he has been thoroughly propagandized and does not understand logic or reason. In short, you are wasting your time.
2
We are experiencing:
3 major hurricanes.
Wildfires running the length of California.
An upsurge in racist violence in our nation.
The looming destruction of the Children's Health Plan.
Self-dealing amongst cabinet officials.
A world-wide refugee crisis originating in, among other places, Myanmar, East Africa and Syria, displacing millions and killing thousands.
A drought and famine in Somalia (again!)
And this fool is ranting about the news media's coverage of his statements. We need a leader who will help us face our challenges, not this person.
27
Don't forget about his courageous stand against the NFL!
7
At the end of Trump's reign (4? 8 years?) he will have destroyed freedom of speech and of the press, anchors of democracy. That's why he needs to be impeached asap.
19
We won't let him. I'm protesting tomorrow (whether anyone else is there or not) outside of trump tower because of this.
8
NBC, the killer of prior Harvey Weinstein stories, and accordingly a media outlet that does not support women’s rights, is getting its due from another women’s rights violator, Donald Trump. I have zero sympathy for NBC.
2
Agreed...Trump's comments regarding the media has a very chilling effect. Many snowflakes make up a blizzard. We need to resist!
10
Where is our Congress in this ongoing, daily madness? It’s so clear Trump is unfit for the office, and it’s becoming more apparent he’s suffering from some type of delusion of grandeur and absolute power, power he doesn’t have.
It’s making me sick to check in on the daily news. There’s always something about Trump’s latest assault on our Constitution or our sensibilities or both. Can’t Twitter close his account? He’s like a plague or cancer on the nation.
And he’s a compulsive, pathological liar.
Yeah he has a base but it has to be shrinking.
Back to my original point - Congress, where are you? Time to wake up.
18
The silent gutless Republicans had best decide soon if country comes before party. My guess is, they're praying that Mueller gives them what they need to get rid of this maniac. My fear is, when they get it, and know what they must do, they'll be too terrified of their own base to act.
11
One thing is certain. he sure brings the "bully" to the pulpit! Maybe he needs to read the US Constitution?
5
"It’s frankly disgusting the way the press is able to write whatever they want to write..."
Did the President just call the First Amendment "disgusting"?
16
What next? A state-run press just like North Korea, China and Russia? Trump has no love for this country and he certainly does not respect the office of the president. He is a disgrace who is systematically destroying what makes (or made) the US a pillar for other countries to emulate. It's about time Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell and their GOP brethren speak out and denounce this wannabe dictator in unequivocal terms. They won't, though, because they are too scared of angering his base. Complicit, selfish cowards. History will not look kindly on them. Remember Neville Chamberlain? Exactly.
11
This man is mentally unbalanced and wicked. There simply are not adequate descriptors left to apply to his conduct. Unfortunately, there are many who see his behavior as a Middle Finger in the face of those who are not entertained. That so many millions of Americans could be enticed by their own malevolence toward other Americans to vote for an abysmally incompetent individual to lead this nation-- is just as bad as the end result it has produced.
There simply is no justification for any of this: Presidents appoint like-minded people to lead departments that directly impact our lives. Can anyone honestly state that we are *better off*? Republicans in Congress do not care; do not be fooled--even by the likes of Bob Corker's repudiation of Donald Trump; he has voted in lock-step with his fellow Republicans in Congress.
This is a sad time in America.
22
The press should boycott any coverage of this man. This will make him completely mad.
12
Go ahead a sue NBC. The truth will set us all free. I triple dog dare you, President Trump.
11
Words of a tyrant, plain and simple.
12
No surprise there, just what one would expect from a tin-pot dictator.
17
he must be impeached immed before he drags the whole dang nation into more chaos.
NOW NOW NOW
18
So now the media intrusion into strategic meetings and leaking the same is all nice just because we want to shame a President? How much do we want to hurt ourselves both ways: by the President who seems to be anything but that and pushing our country down globally as best as he can and the irresponsible media who are bent upon scoring some points against the President in leaking strategic confidential meetings at the cost of hurting the country at the global stage?
2
SRi: This kind of coverage is completely normal in the American press, and always has been. There is nothing irresponsible about it. I choose to be informed, but Trump voters are likely unhappy to be told they voted for a man who doesn't have the first idea about nuclear nonproliferation treaties. He's been chasing real estate deals and the almighty dollar all his professional life. He can no more suddenly become a statesman than he can sit down at a piano and play the Emperor Concerto--although I bet he'd love the name.
5
NBC is a major reason that we're in this mess. Trump would be completely irrelevant today if not for "The Apprentice" on NBC. Trump is often touted as extremely loyal to all who've helped him out at any point when the truth is that his only loyalty is to his family. His incessant hatred of all things Jeff Zucker and CNN also ignores the fact that Zucker made "The Apprentice" into the sensation it became.
I just watched the Eminem freestyle rap from last night's awards show with my family. Our country would be a much better place if we organized behind Eminem's words rather than Trump's tweets.
21
Removal from office is long overdue.
28
As our democracy is dismantled by this dictator, there seems to be little hope that the Republican-led Congress will do something -- anything -- to save whatever might remain. Tax cuts for the rich are more important than the country itself. How much worse will things get before action is taken? The majority of us are exhausted, furious, outraged, and disgusted. Enough already.
23
A little clarity in the Headline might be helpful as NBC also means Nuclear Biological and Chemical weapons.
3
We should all be seriously concerned about the mental fitness of Trump. His irrational behavior, inability to focus, and juvenile tantrums all point to a man in desperate crisis.
Trump spends his days consumed by what NFL players are doing on the field, actually calling team owners to beg that they stop players from kneeling. He lashes out daily in completely irrational tirades against the media, his own party, foreign leaders and even his own cabinet nominees, then he claims he never did such a thing. This is not normal by anyone's definition.
We the public are seeing only the very tip of the iceberg. What's going on in the WH is I'm sure shear chaos. For the sake of this country, Trump should be removed from office and put in a place where he can get the help he needs.
18
It's hard to tell if y'all get it and pretend you don't so you can all have a daily group hyperventilation session or you if you truly just don't get it.
May I spell it out? He's playing you.
The more wound-up and excited you all get the more these shenanigans work in his favor. It's a jujitsu move. He creates friction and incites hysteria and then levers all that energy toward getting ever more attention for his narcissistic self and uses the amped up soap box (twitter) to create yet more chaos.
The antidote would be to ignore him. The press can't do that because all this nonsense is driving readership and that translates in to the sanctimony of corporate dollars.
Because the media owes its ratings to him the press is his toy. So, he will play with it like a yoyo.
9
That's it, it's time to throw down the gauntlet. Whether he wants it or thinks he needs it, the President needs a cold splash of reality. He cannot threaten a corporation with loss of license for any reason. And no, regressives, government regulations are not the same thing.
Mr Trump is not a dictator and not only should he be more self-aware of his bluster and deliberate recklessness, we have an obligation to push back to make it clear to him that this behavior cannot be tolerated. He was elected to uphold the constitution and here he is deliberately threatening to thwart it.
10
Does Trump believe that he lives in Russia, Turkey or Eygpt? Perhaps he should take a sabbatical in one of these countries. Also I am so disappointed with the silence of the conservatives who are very keen to defend Koch Brothers’ empire free speech but remain cowardly silent with potential assault on the Press and First Amendment.
9
Time to dust off the 25th amendment.
14
Could Donald Trump be removed through the 25th Amendment?
9
Trump uses tweets to bully and threaten. Where is Twitter? Aren't there guidelines for this? Take the Tweet Away.
10
I know that hypocrisy doesn't matter any more in Washington, D.C., but it does to most of us.
Don't you think it just a little bit hypocritical that President Trump assails NBC for "fake news" and yet he enjoys a personal, public relationship with the man who owns and prints The National Inquirer?
During the general election campaign, my supermarket regularly featured the National Enquirer near the checkout counter. Often, the entire front page was filled with distorted photos of Mrs. Clinton and ridiculous headlines.
7
To the GOP: it is long past time for you to take responsibility for YOUR "president". No supernatural force is going to swoop down and take care of this mess for you. There are plenty of you to share the blame. TAKE OFF YOUR BLINDERS, PUT ASIDE YOUR COWARDICE AND ACT. Think of all you and your descendants have to lose if you don't.
10
This is exactly the time for all news organizations to gird their loins and fight. News organizations should stop hosting extreme right "pundits" who validate the unacceptable. They should report the facts and only the facts, not the talking points of liars. They should be as accurate as possible and should not sit to the side when things that are simply outrageous happen, such as FEMA claiming food and water for Puerto Rico is not in its purview. We have given too much space and time to versions of the KKK and the NRA. Enough. Decency and rationale thought must make comebacks.
9
What a tragedy that we all should be subject to such bullying.
8
Another distraction from the Distrator-in-Chief. The only thing Trump really wants is a tax cut for the wealthy. Everything else is a sideshow. Keep your eyes on the center ring. Follow the money.
11
It seems Mr. Trump and Mr. Dutetre have become quite chummy as the exact same scenario is playing out in the Philippines. ABS-CBN, one of the main and largest broadcaster, has been quite critical of Mr. Duterte''s war on drugs which has killed thousands without due process. As a result, Mr. Duterte has put renewal of ABS-CBN's license under threat. Our democracy, our values, and our nation are under threat and this story is about as big as it gets. RESIST!
6
When the Germans voted for Hitler in 1933 they did not imagine that it was their last democratic vote until after Germany was devastated in WW II.
This is the risk in voting for demagogues and populists - you won't realize it at the time or else you wouldn't be making it, but it might be the last vote you ever get.
And for the people who didn't vote, you should realize that maybe you will never ever get to vote and instead your future, your life and your children's lives may be in the hands of someone like Trump.
27
Just jotted a little note of to my local republican representative, Thomas MacArthur. He had a long list of issue categories from a pull down menu to choose from except the issue I wanted to discuss. I started the email by suggesting be add a new category entitled "The competency of the current president".
We the American people need to remind the republican politicians who they swore an oath to protect and it's not Donald J Trump. I suggest anyone posting here drop their representatives a note about how they feel about Donald J Trump and their silence on him.
16
Why is Trump still in office? Congress has abandoned the Constitution and reneged on its pledge to protect the US against its enemies, domestic and foreign.
27
Actually "BearBoy", the people voted for Mrs. Clinton. The Elector College "installed" your dear leader.
3
Actually, they didn't.
1
No, they did not by more than 3 million votes not. The people supported Hillary Clinton not "little hands" tRump.
1
NBC in unison with the other networks created this monster. Pardon me if I'm not upset that they are the focus of his irrational rage. As I recall, Trump's dictatorial inclination was aptly displayed on his TV show that was promoted by NBC and the entire Television industry that devoted a Billion dollars worth of free airtime that meant constant name recognition and free campaigning. If Television is shut down, may I recommend actually talking to each other or enjoying some good music or literature. Maybe America will be smarter and vote for rational people.
3
I’m always impressed when I read old newspaper stories at how concise and to the point there are. Nowadays even the simplest story, content-wise, is blown up into rambling exposes which seem to have more to do with everything other than the point. I don’t call it fake news, just bloviated filler. Take all those empty words and the talking heads on MSNBC will spin them into whatever kind of web they’re in the mood for each night.
2
So, the State Department comes out in support of a Turkish journalist Ayla Albayrak and waxes lyrical about freedom of speech for the media and how it needs to be protected BUT not a word in support of the US press and American journalists.
18
This man is all sound and fury, but when it comes to actual effects, he's been ineffective. It's a threat, and it'll remain a threat. His only real legacy that will outlast him will be in the realm of the federal judiciary--him and a compliant, radicalized GOP in the Senate will allow incredibly frightening right-wing ideologues to occupy dozens or even hundreds of posts in the judiciary.
That will be the deep damage this man does. But after four years of this nightmare, there will be a severe backlash against this far-right lurch in US governance as more and more angry old white men start to die off. Without that voter bulwark, the far-right and right-wing ideologues won't have much to stand on.
It'll be the GOP in the California in the 1990s and early 2000s, except writ large and throughout the nation. Nobody remembers Pete Wilson and his far-right policies. All they remember is how his party and he himself marginalized the GOP into a permanent minority party in California.
64
He needs to resign, he needs to go. This is beyond normal aberrant behavior. There is no one in history who invented more fake news than Donald Trump.
Why can't the people who contain him keep him from such outrageous attempts to stifle free speech, be it on the football field, or morning television.
The reported story he has complained about is well sourced. His staffers leak as if sieves. For a reason---and we all know the reason. He's unsuited to the office of the presidency. It is a major disaster.
This whole thing is becoming Nixonian.
20
Neil Young: "Even Richard Nixon has got soul."
Trump...soulless.
3
I believe the president does not have a healthy understanding of our nuclear capabilities or of the treaties and covenants that the US is committed to. But, NBC, the NYT, WaPo, CNN et al must be prepared to name sources at times when world peace and millions of lives are at risk. General Mattis denied the reports regarding that infamous July meeting at the Pentagon that Trump suggested/ordered/opined on the need to dramatically increase our nuclear arsenal. So whom should we believe? Mattis is "on the record". NBC's sources, although seemingly credible, are not on the record. The risk is that the sources dry up for the news organizations versus a "reality" where the Secretaries of State and Defense, along with the president, are lying to the American public. Sounds like Vietnam???
4
All those machinations against the press did not work out well for Nixon. President Trump, are you listening?
6
Trump labeled some outlets of the mainstream media "the enemy of the American people."
The old-time underworld mobsters used to say, "Never harm a man who's about to commit suicide."
Our adversaries around the world are just sitting back and enjoying the show. Our allies are flummoxed.
The mainstream media and the judicial system are the only thing saving us. Rational thinking Americans have your back. Please keep the heat on the sartorial snark. This man is imploding right before our eyes.
7
Trump hates the 1st Amendment but loves the 2nd one.
Like he gets a line team veto on the Bill of Rights.
10
The subject in question is a he said, she said dilemma now, but looking at the big picture, Trump's big actions as a total appear to me to be designed to destroy America. Think carefully about all he has done starting with his divisive campaign to present day. Trump is our enemies dream come true.
No one should ever hurt him. He would only get mad.
I hope that world leaders keep clearly in mind that Trump's fantasy of heading a monarchy is not going to undermine U.S. credibility and commitments. We are containing this imposter, and our form of government is dealing well with keeping this disabled, accidental "president" from doing any damage.
In any case, this is what We must all be doing: Contain him until 2018 elections can thoroughly neutralize him, and 2020 elections can undo Trump's regressiveness.
A great truth to Trump's fake presidency is that his monarchic edicts can be undone! He IS being contained—yet another reason to recognize that America is already great, and will not be made less so by a golf course developer.
4
The reason Trump is reacting to NBC in this way is not because of aledged reporting errors but because NBC is openly questioning Trump's competence. Trump has repeatedly demonstrated a lack of appreciation for the truth as demonstrated in spades by the NYT. When a president hints at war as he did when he spoke of the "calm before the storm" he is being irresponsible. When he asks stupid questions like "if we have nuclear weapons why can't we use them" he is being reckless. This president has no credibility with most of the world in addition to the USA. Most of us would sleep a lot better if Trump held the title past-president.
8
Mueller must be getting too close for comfort ...
16
Our government is designed to have legislative and judicial branches to offset the power of an errant executive. The GOP and the Supremes have not done anything to reel in this clown, and will not do so in the future.
Congratulations, America - your democracy just produced your first duly-elected dictator.
Thanks, GOP, for producing the low information voters and gerrymandered districts to make this all possible.
15
Given that Republicans in Congress have proven to be utterly incompetent at governing, I guess it's no surprise that they have no clue how to save us from this man. IT'S CALLED IMPEACHMENT.
9
When can the American people revoke Trump's "license"?
16
Fellow Americans, don't fall for his tripe! We deserve so much better! Continue to resist! Continue to talk to your friends and neighbors and be engaged in your community. United we shall stand!
11
Secretary Mattis' response to NBC's report struck a familiar chord. Remember when President Trump disclosed classified information to the Russian ambassador and foreign minister in the Oval Office? Remember when H.R. McMaster was sent out to refute the story? What did he do? He denied that Trump had done something other than what the press report accused him of doing.
Look at Secretary Mattis' carefully worded statement here: “Recent reports that the president called for an increase in the U.S. nuclear arsenal are absolutely false.” "Called for," that is -- ordered. But NBC did not report that President Trump "called for" an increase. Rather, they asserted that "President Donald Trump said he wanted what amounted to a nearly tenfold increase in the U.S. nuclear arsenal." There is a huge difference between "wanted" and "called for."
That's what you have to do when your job requires that you support Mr. Trump. Change the story, and then deny your version. In other words: "The story this morning that I called President Trump an 'idiot' is completely false and shockingly reckless reporting."
14
This is a public servant?
Congress? Have you sworn to uphold something?
People can you spot sniveling, self-serving cowards?
Who will step up for us?
What will it take?
What is enough?
11
Not funny. He wants to inch us toward a dictatorship.
Where are the Congressional Republicans?
Where are the Congressional Republicans?
Where are the Congressional Republicans?
Where are the Congressional Republicans?
16
Well I guess that's what Putin would do.
11
If you're not utterly disgusted and repulsed by the disgraceful behavior of this farcical "president," you're either profoundly ignorant or you haven't been paying attention.
20
NBC is a disgrace. They are very lucky we have a 1st amendment.
Are you Russian? You too are fortunate we have the 1st amendment
9
No... WE are very lucky there's a First Amendment!! WE, the people! And it looks like you have a typo in your first sentence: the subject is wrong. It should read "Trump", not "NBC". There. Fixed it for you.
4
NBC is doing its job. Trump needs to understand that we have the First Amendment.
4
Hey...Bring It...See where it gets You....
3
What will it take to rouse Republicans from their torpor -- a call for bids for construction of concentration camps?
15
Only if their wealthy donors were threatened with internment
2
And Trump is no Kennedy, Johnson or Nixon. What has Trump sofar accomplished? I hope that Trump does restrict NBC’s license. Not that the inept Republican congress is capable of impeaching him. But it would be one for the records.
3
There are 50 million Trump's across America. America has proven itself to be a very different country to the one most people would have had of a tolerant and leading world leader. A massively divided and broken country, with an elected leader who has shown the reality rather than the image. America can no longer claim it's moral standing amongst other countries and Trump is merely speaking for the 50 millions of Americans who voted for him.
21
Sad but true.
By the way it was almost 63 million who voted for Dear Leader
2
Not every pone who voted for Trump are pro-Trump. there are many who were anti-Clinton, so that had no choice. May be Dems should have put up a better candidate who could have beaten Trump. Well they derailed Sanders deliberately, so they are culpable for what we have now.
Sanders would have won in a landslide. He remains the most popular politician in the country in polls. But, it wasn't his "turn".
Trump's captive to the Generals who surround him. Since 1998 there's over $21 Trillion missing from the Pentagon and HUD. That's enough to fund national healthcare and infrastructure, or pay off the debt. And $21 Trillion's just what two departments have misplaced. If the Generals want to facilitate more theft they are free to do so.
As for NBC, the media do need to clean up their act. This might not be the best or most effective approach if what we want is transparency and criticism of government.
1
What exactly did NBC do wrong?
6
Some might be inclined to put a lot of stock into Gen. Mattis's comments about what was actually said. After all, he is a respected general. However, I am reminded of Gen. Westmoreland in 1965, and Gen. Powell in 2003. So with all due respect, for this story I'll stick with NBC's reporting rather than Donald Trump's general.
20
For all the bluster from the right, it should be noted that it was Ronald Reagan that did away with the fairness doctrine. Although Clinton signed the 96 communications act, it was a Republican brain child that concentrated media outlets in fewer hands. The next Republican step, will be the elimination of net neutrality, which will eventually tighten the monopoly status of media companies even more.
14
The more you threaten with your tweets, President Trump, the more your hopes of passing your tax cut, already on thin ice, begin to go down the drain. But if all you want to do is rant, and watch as Congress turns solidly Democrat next year in the process, hey, be my guest. Maybe you should open a liquor store to sell your whines.
22
If Trump can stop NFL players from kneeling, he can stop Christians and Jews and Muslims from kneeling in the exercise of their First Amendment rights. Why does Mr. Trump insist that the players behave in ways he considers "politically correct" when he regularly opposes political correctness for himself and his followers?
29
What constitutes a Constitutional Crisis? Aren't we there yet?
23
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis issued a statement of his own disputing the NBC story. “Recent reports that the president called for an increase in the U.S. nuclear arsenal are absolutely false,” he said. “This kind of erroneous reporting is irresponsible.”
I would believe Secretary Mattis. If NBC made this false allegation, an allegation that totally undermines our president, threatens are standing amongst the global community and, hence, threatens our national security, then some sort of sanction needs to be imposed on NBC and any media outlet that puts forth hazardous, fake news.
I would believe that Secretary Defense Jim Mattis want to stay close to DJT at any cost, and that it is "irresponsible" to make a comment which would ultimately undermine his ability to mitigate chaos.
8
Then read Mattis ' statement more carefully. He doesn't contradict the report, only Trump's version of the meeting.
9
Some people may view my views as “leftist” but I am a American living on Turtle Island - First Nations grounds....Blaine, Washington to others.
4
The bully pulpit is not for bullying. This President thinks he's head of a banana republic. And what he's doing to the US's standing and economic power internationally will make his dream come true. Meanwhile, the Constitution is being torn into bits and thrown in the trash. Countervailing power and checks and balances can't save us if they are mocked and torpedoed.
5
"It’s frankly disgusting the press is able to write whatever they want to write"
It’s frankly disgusting that Trump was elected.
40
It's amazing if you go to the Fox News site, comments section. Seems to be a large contingent that think, what they call the main stream media, should be reigned in.
6
Oh, great! A veiled threat to freedom of the press.
I have great faith in this country and in the durability of its enviable democracy. We have been tested before and have shown great resilience. I am hopeful, therefore, that we will endure the stresses imposed on us by the petty and divisive man now occupying the White House.
If, however, we do go off the rails, future historians may look back to today as the beginning of the end of that - increasingly tarnished - democracy.
82
Veiled?
7
Where's the veil?
5
Future historians. I hope that isn't wishful thinking. Much life on Earth
is threatened by this Trump administration.
4
If this were an Oscar-Winning movie, 'The Reality Presidency', or (pick a title), this viewer would have walked out after fifteen minutes. A President declares war on his own people in America? But your companion wants to see how it pans out, which is fine and you will meet for coffee. So how did it end, you will ask.
Life is stranger than fiction? Perhaps, but although we can not go back to the beginning, we can start changing the end of our story.
5
Please stop taking Trump seriously. We must laugh at him and his performance art. As Mark Twain said, "Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand".
10
We'd better take him seriously. His "undereducated" base does and I'll bet they're nodding their heads in agreement with his threats on the press.
5
You can laugh, but laughing won’t stop him.
1
Mark Twain didn't have the threat of nuclear annihilation hangng over the human race.
5
This President is dedicated to undermining all institutions and sources of power outside of his own. He has made a science out of the big lie and the little lie -- in this he cannot but remind one of the routine lies and distortions used by the National Socialists in Germany as they dismantled the Weimar Republic and attacked all the critical institutions of society -- the church, private companies, the press, the Reichstag, the army and the educational system. I do not mean to claim that Trump is a Hitler, but rather that he and the GOP are undermining basic institutions of our country in the ways that the Nazis did, and perhaps for the same reason -- to get and hold as much power as possible.
19
His Twitter-saturated mind probably forgot that he said it. He didn't even remember he had lunch with Tillerson yesterday when a reporter asked him earlier today.
7
His short term memory is failing, I believe.
3
Yep, all he has is his long-term memory: "My dad was in the KKK and Roy Cohn was my mentor (lover?)"
2
If there were any doubt before, it's now official. America is a fascist state. Trump's threat to pull NBC's license is just the latest assault on our Constitutionally protected civil rights and civil liberties.
The Justice Department has already attempted to obtain Facebook information about those of us who have protested against his corrupt regime. With threats like these, we should now expect that we, individual citizens who do not support this unhinged dictator, will be targeted next.
So understand this. When our families are met at our front doors by "authorities" who want to "question" them, we need to be ready. Our Congressional leaders have failed us. We know they will not act on our behalf. The Trump Supreme Court has given him five solid votes in favor of any dictatorial action he takes. The courts can no longer protect us. They can no longer guarantee our civil rights and civil liberties. This is the America we now live in.
For those of you who believe that assaults on our individual citizens for our political or religious beliefs will not happen, you need to wake up. This will happen. It is only a matter of time. If there were ever a time to have one's passport ready, it is now. Anyone who could leave this country, but chooses to stay, ought to reconsider this decision. For those of our citizens who cannot leave, it will be all about survival mode here. Keep quiet. Don't go to rallies. Your Facebook posts could land you in jail. Welcome to your new America.
18
If I were not 75 y/o, I definitely would be seeking residence elsewhere. Reminds me of pre-WW II - the wise Jews saw the handwriting on the wall. US has seen its sell-by date, unfortunately.
2
Im still going to rallies and posting anti Trump on SM. Country was founded on protest; go down fighting
but wont need to gonna win back our country.
You are right. But I would rather they drag me kicking and screaming. I'm going to every rally I can.
1
When one, as a matter of course, makes hollow threats, especially threats based on ignorance, people stop taking them seriously. When one speaks only in superlatives, those words lose their meaning.
This is what is emanating from our White House and it is not good.
107
Yes...but his "base" still loves him. He was right. He could walk down Fifth Avenue and shoot someone and still not lose support of his base.
3
"The press should speak more honestly."
So should the President.
14
Ok, here's the distraction. What's the other hand doing?
16
A good question for Trump--perhaps via bible-thumping Sarah--would be: "Do you think someone who lies in Twitter feeds should be banned from Twitter?"
9
“It’s frankly disgusting the way the press is able to write whatever they want to write and people should look into it,” Mr. Trump said.
Talk about a case of projection! More to the point, it's disgusting that Twitter allows the Donald to tweet whatever he wants, in clear violation of its user policy. If he were anyone else, his PRIVATE @realDonaldTrump account that he uses for this garbage would be disabled.
11
The preeminent purveyor of fake news wants to muzzle the press because they tell the truth. How can this man be our president? It's like a nightmare and we can't wake up.
13
Will it be removal by impeachment or the 25th Amendment? Insulting the Majority Leader, Speaker of the House, Republican senators, cabinet members and the Supreme Court is as stupid as it gets. If "Seven Days in May" comes to fruition, this time we will root for the Generals. "Seven Days in November or December" works for me. I am not a fan of VP Pence but he is not dangerously mad.
5
Impeachment for turning Democracy into tyranny. Wake up America.
11
“It’s frankly disgusting the way the press is able to write whatever they want to write and people should look into it,” Mr. Trump said.
REALLY??? Says the author of the Birther Movement?? REALLY???
What about Messr. Trump's FALSE charge of being surveilled by Obama and the NUMEROUS other FALSE and DEROGATORY comments he's tweeted since becoming President.
Someone needs to take away Trump's license as president - and now!
17
Watch the movie called A Face in the Crowd on YouTube. You will never forget it. It's "trump" in 1957...a masterpiece.
5
Dick Cheney would pop up at least once a month to claim Barack Obama unfit for office. He'd write, call, go on TV, national tours to denounce any and every initiative of Geithner's or Biden's or Rice, and now without a word, stands by and watches this approvingly. That proves something, or more than one thing.
10
Straight out of the Nixon playbook
4
Reminiscent of Nixon's Enemies List. Absolutely inappropriate for a country governed by "rule of law." How many threats to our country and Constitution does it take for Republicans to wake up and start impeachment proceedings - possibly the only thing strong enough to get Trump's limited attention. Pathetic.
3
Is he going to take actions against NBC just because he doesn't like what they say about him? Man!! This country has become into a "banana republic"!!!
6
No more cowardice, Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell. ENOUGH
8
Somebody should pull Trump's license.
5
These Goebells-ian tactics should not be tolerated. Not one more moment.
Trump sounds more and more like 1930's Germany. Is 1942 far off?
Impeach, convict and remove NOW.
Before it is too late.
13
Between Jimmy Fallon and Matt Lauer, NBC did its level best to saddle us with this bigoted fool. This is absolutely wrong, but NBC is like the frog that carried the scorpion across the water.
3
Who will shut this “man” up? The G.O.P rode this rabid elephant into power, and they can only redeem themselves by putting and end to this intellectual and spiritual apocalypse. You reap what you sow.
8
Let's see... Republican patriots in the Senate: McCain, Murkowski, Corker, Collins... Yep... Counted 'em on one hand...
And, uh... Republican patriots in the House: Burr... ?
Why is it that over 75% of our voters disapprove of Trump but almost 90% of our elected officials will NOT stand up to him?
11
Because the voters are not their constituents.
6
Who do you have more confidence in an investigative/news reporter from NBC or the president of perpetual and compulsive lies? Easy choice.
8
You know what is worse?
The Democrats can't find a voice to combat this train wreck.
6
Time to try our luck with President Pence?
To the GOP: How low do you really want to go? Your President is bordering on flat-out stifling of a free press. Do you really want to be remembered as the party that trashed the Constitution? You can no longer issue meek statements of "concern". You own this mess.
9
They don't care about free speech or a free press. They don't care about the Constitution. The reason they don't oppose him? Because they want what he gives them, not even if, but because, it jeopardizes the Republic. They want a theocratic dictatorship. Anyone who believes otherwise has been asleep for the past 30 years. If Republicans wanted something different from what we have now, they'd have brought it forward. Lord knows they've got the money (or rather, their pimps, the Kochs and others of similar ilk). And when Trump falls? They'll have Pence, who is even more ideologically aligned with their worldview. They'll ride Trump for all he's worth, and when he's no longer useful, they'll ditch him, and ride the new pony, Pence.
7
Fake news = Fox News. We’ve known it for over a decade.
10
Unfortunately it is just another day's revelation of how ill informed and simply how ignorant he is.
6
Trump is a coward and a hypocrite, unable to tolerate criticism, however constructive. I f we do not defend the freedom of the press, our vulgar bully, a smallish tyrant in the making, may continue to abuse the power of the presidency "a la Erdogan", by distorting the truth and converting the facts to his liking (fake news). Why is it that this sick individual doubles down in lying, in spite of fully knowing it's all recorded, and easily debunked?
5
Yet another bloviated accusation from a pathological liar and bully.
13
I think ot’s the “moron” aspect of this story that makes him feel demeaned. But he couldn’t threaten to take away NBC license over that, now he has cover. And the moron story just won’t die for the profound ring of truth it carries.
8
Why didn't anyone threaten NBC's license when it put The Donald's dog-and-pony show on the air? Had it not been for Apprentice (with and without the so-called celebrities) we'd never have gotten to this mind-boggling point in the history of a formerly great nation.
15
Viva Trump! Most of the people in the mainstream media (and academia, too) have a very leftist anti American political agenda. If the same people had been around during WWII they would be saying the would should embrace Nazism for "diversity" and those who did not were close minded bigots.
2
Reader in Moscow, Trump embraces very fine Nazis or haven’t you been paying attention? Do bots even pay attention?
3
Do you not know that Nazis are right leaning? Opposition to them has traditionally come from the left.
1
So now you have Trump coming darn close to embracing Nazism himself. Who needs a free press anyhow.
Muzzling the press? Terminating the media he doesn't like? He doesn't need Huckabee Sanders. He wants Goebbels.
17
She's doing a pretty good imitation.
7
If there were any remaining doubts that the President needs to be impeached, this should settle the matter. The man swore a vow to uphold the Constitution. Ever since, he has unrelentingly used the power of his office to attack the free press--the bedrock of our democracy. All modern tyrants, dictators, and totalitarians have attacked the free press, because they hate the truth. Threatening broadcast licenses because they reported the news should be the last straw. It is the act of an out-of-control despot. The American Presidency is an executive function, part of a balance of powers, not an unaccountable autocracy. Trump is way over the line here.
23
Our president is taking the war on media to a different level than his predecessors. He and his spokesmen, including newscasters working for Sinclair Broadcasting- billed as the “leading local news provider” in the country, have zero credibility when comes to determining what is fake news.
11
Q: How does one know that Trump has truly lost his mind?
A: When he makes statements that even Rush Limbaugh wouldn't dare say.
7
The First Amendment protects free speech and the press.
The Second Amendment exists to protect the First Amendment.
Protect the Bill of Rights. Protect the Constitution.
Elect a House of Representatives that will impeach the Apprentice president.
Register. Vote. Every Election, Every Year.
15
Huckabee-Sanders will step to the podium and say once again that Trump was just joking and reporters need to get a sense of humor.
Trump, your "jokes" just aren't funny.
16
He got elected. The joke is on us.
5
Trump gets most angry when what the Press reports is TRUE.
19
President Trump:
Freedom of the press is part of our Constitution. We will defend NBC with our lives.
14
Dear Leader Trump,
"It is frankly disgusting the press is able to write whatever it wants to write."
The NYTimes, Washington Post have journalistic standards. Breitbart and Fox don't.
It is frankly disgusting the president is able to tweet whatever he wants to tweet.
18
You must be delusional to think one has "standards" and the others don't. Some lie blatantly while others do it subtly. For example, they will print favorable news on the top and not-so favorable news at somewhere way down (like Clinton's issues). They don't repeat the unfavorable narrative but the favorable one is repeated over few days. They insert fact checks only in unfavorable narrative where as the favorable one is just presented as what was happened with no inputs from media. Since editorials have more freedom, there they unleash the propaganda fully and that's why you only have pro-Democrat editorials or anti-Republican editorials on these websites. All legitimate but with subtle foundation of influencing the people to think in their way.
So pro-Democratic editorials and anti-Republican editorials are propaganda, but not the reverse? I can always identify a Republican propagandist by the way they truncate the name of my party. It's the "Democrat Party," not the Democratic Party, which is actually its name. Subtle effort to turn the party's name into an epithet, as they have done with the term Liberal. Maybe we should reciprocate by referring to the Republic Party going forward. That sounds only fair to me.
1
It doesn't matter if you're from the right side or the left side or the up side or the down side, we're in trouble, BIG trouble and there is no one, NO ONE, that will be a big enough to be an old time (or new) statesman to put an end to what could be the end of our country. I fear for my grandchildren and your grandchildren and our way of life.
16
Again and again, this man behaves as though he believes himself to be a king or emperor, not the elected president of a constitutional democratic republic, and his base revels in it. This is just the most recent of his authoritarian pronunciamentos, but part of a much larger pattern. But increasingly, he is acting not just like a king, but like a mad king.
21
My life would be so much better, indeed the whole world's life would be so much better, if Trump was banned from Twitter for terms-of-service violations. His tweet-bombs and the media echoes they set off are literally destabilizing our globe.
The First Amendment doesn't mean that a privately held business has to let you say whatever you want on its site. Right now on the Korean Peninsula, Kim Jong Un is responding to Trump's tweeted "Rocket Man" comments as a declaration of war. I hold Twitter's CEOs partially accountable, because Trump's behavior clearly crosses the boundaries of their own stated policies. And they allow it to what end? To make a few dollars off the "Liberal Tears" coffee cups and MAGA hats advertised on Trump's Twitter feed?
14
Jim Mattis should let the President defend himself. Every single person who has defended Trump’s lies has been undercut by the President. Don’t worry, we know you trying to avert chaos, the greater problem for the nation is the rank incompetence and you can’t do anything there other than work with Congress to invoke the 25th Amendment.
7
“It’s frankly disgusting the way the press is able to write whatever they want to write and people should look into it,” Mr. Trump said.
He must of forgotten about freedom of the press. He also seems unaware of his legal remedies, even though is wife is suing the Daily Mail.
Tillerson picked the right word, but the modifier was rather coarse. Trump's got a slander suit, but I'm sure the defendant would want an IQ test to prove his innocence.
6
NBC bias is out of control and losing my trust i.e. i can handle biased opinions
1
Unfortunately, a lot of money is involved, so Comcast would nix any such action. However, if I was the head of Comcast (or an NBC head given permission to do so), I would sue the President for libel/slander/defamation because his tweets have adverse economic impact on NBC's bottom line.
Usually, Trump's chronic lies are usually just shrugged-off and forgotten by the next day's news cycle. What a libel/slander/defamation lawsuit does is keep the issue in the news like Watergate. Furthermore, it eventually exposes Trump to be the outright cavalier liar that he is. Of course, NBC would likely have to reveal sources so that might be problematic.
However, the bottom line is that the stench of a lawsuit will stick to Trump and, once he loses in court, he will lose considerable power and respect even among his base a bit. At minimum, it would rein him in a bit.
9
Up go Rachel’s ratings.
5
Please send this president back to a middle-school civics class where he can learn about things like freedom of the press and of religion and of thought and why those things actually make America great. As the reporters aptly point out, threats from government against the press are nothing new, which is exactly why the press is so protected in the U.S., which is why it is not a dictatorship. This president is so thin-skinned and volatile. Who knows what he'll order his "basket of deplorables" to do?
5
We all, including the miserably craven GOP, have known for quite some time that the current president of the USA is insane. That is evident and the evidence is supported by a large number of psychiatrists who have compiled their individual professional opinions regarding the president's fitness in a book called The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump. You can get it as a Kindle book from Amazon.com.
With that said it's way past time to show him the door.
8
Still needs someone to teach him the Constitution, the document he swore to protect and defend.
At least show him a 15-minute Powerpoint.
4
I believe is is time to use the constitution (25th section 4) and remove him from office. He is a threat to this nation and its allies.
14
I am aware of the phrase "fake news." But I do not know what the article is referring to by the phrase: "what he calls the 'fake news' industry."
2
I say to the Media and the Preess: Do not be intimidated! Speak up! Resist!
Use your First Amendment FREEDOM of the Press to address every bullying remark or action this man takes.
8
And yet he has nothing to say about the fake news sites and accounts operated by Russia and aimed at creating conflict among Americans! Not even a word of thanks or a brag about he can cause division without their help. I guess Putin has not given his approval to comment on that subject. No wonder Trump is upset to see NBC writing whatever they want when he himself cannot get permission to do the same. Mr. Two-Scoops not happy! Time for the red hat and some serious Twitter-tantrums.
6
I think that Tillerson correctly described Trump, but the NYT is completely ignoring a major issue. Was NBC's claim true or false, and if false, was it a case of gross negligence on their part or were they willfully living to readers? The NYT's silence about it makes me think the claim was false, as they would certainly have looked into any such incendiary Trump claim.
2
Trump looks like a man carrying a dark secret. He knows what Robert Mueller will find and he doesn't expect to survive in office. So he's letting his Id go bananas.
7
If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.
7
The first casualty in war may be the truth but the first casualty among dictators is a free press. Trump's threat to shut down NBC news may be just him bullying with no real intent to do what he says but it is frightening just the same and is an extremely slippery slope to something far worse.
If it weren't for Trump's inclination to bully and abuse we could shrug off his threat to stifle our free press and even laugh at it, but nothing about Trump is funny. He's a small-minded Mussolini wannabe, a mean-spirited man, ignorant of the office he holds and of his responsibilities as president and to our Constitution. He's mad Captain Queeg and it may be that only our military can save U.S. from his madness.
7
All this talk about impeachment and the 25 Amendment is fun to read but ultimately little more than a fantasy. The craven, corrupt GOP is advancing their anti-gay, racist, sexist, anti-environment, anti-budget agenda and tRump provides them with cover by distracting the media and the public with lunacy. It's a winning situation for the GOP right up until the moment when it isn't, at which point they will need a scapegoat. The Dems will undoubtedly provide one. While 63 million Americans continue to chant "Lock Her Up" few will notice that this IS America, America's values, America's way of being in the world. Anyone committed to capitalism, corporate profits, competition, winning at any cost is complicit in this. We need to prepare for a long ride on this ship of fools.
6
Our institutions must fight back against any attempt by Trump to silence the media from critical reporting he does not like. Trump needs to be reminded he was not installed as dictator to trample on the first amendment ,the free press and the rights of NFL players to protest. Fascism creeps in slowly and that seems to be Mr. Trump's goal to keep everyone under his frantic fat thumbs.
3
Trump's daily antics are reaffirmation media failed miserably in the responsibility, endowed by Bill of Rights, to warn our most gullible and apathetic voters of approaching tyranny.
6
It's frankly disgusting the way the President can tweet whatever he wants to tweet and gets away with it. People should look into it.
5
It has started. The tweet is a trial balloon to his rabid base to limit freedom of the press. Next will be the FCC 'reviewing' NBC's license and then the revocation of all media deemed subversive. Next will be Government sponsored 'news'.
At this point, I wonder if removing trump from office by ANY means available is not necessary? I also ponder if the Germans had engaged in this conversation in the 1920's, six million jews and millions of others would have lived?
4
OK- Where are all the GOP leaders now? Silence the Press- Freedom of Speech!
The 1st Amendment is a big ticket item for God fearing Republicans---
And there they be - sitting in utter silence- watching their President make a mockery of our Country and Constitution.
But they will vote to repeal healthcare from 25 million Americans without batting an eyelash.
This is the beginning of the end folks!
8
To the 67,025 persons who "liked" Trump's threat to NBC, I hope you will also enjoy your loss of First Amendment protection.
6
Will somebody wake me when this nightmare is over?
3
It's sad that Dan Hicks passed away last year. Can you imagine his rewrite of "How Can I Miss You if You Won't Go Away?"!
4
NY Times: On a matter like this, is there anything you can do to make these statements undeniable? You don't have to expose all the lies, only a few key ones. Perhaps there could be more cooperation among the major news organizations on some key matters of truth.
The real and scary beginnings of a dictatorship.
2
Maybe after Trump learns about the first amendment Peter Baker can write a column about how Washington is "changing Trump."
Enough from this man-child of a so-called president. Hasn't he brought enough damage upon us already?
1
Trump said "I have a stronger, tougher point of view on NK". Really! We're just looking for SMARTER! Is that too much to ask of Leader of Free World?
4
"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!"
That Trump can post such a tweet on the heels of demanding that everyone stand for the National Anthem is one of the most amazing examples of incongruity that I have ever seen. Something is truly wrong with him.
8
When will this national outrage end? Every day is an assault on decency and the degradation of American values continues unabated. It seems Republicans in Congress would rather get tax cuts than do the right thing.
5
Register.
Vote.
Tell your friends!
Win.
2
This is direct intimidation of the free press and why not? Trump's buddy Erdogan got away with it in Turkey which is well on its way to dictatorship. As to the subject matter, this seems like an inexplicable issue for Trump to blow up over, although he does that a lot. A normal person would just shrug and say "Yes, I thought we should greatly increase our nuclear arsenal when I was running for President in the summer of 2016, but I have since become better informed and no longer think we need more nuclear weapons." But wait, this is not a normal person, this is Trump, who has never been wrong about anything, always knew everything and, therefore, never would need to change his mind and cannot brook any person or entity, in this case NBC News, suggesting this might be the case.
2
There must have been someone, SOMEONE, in that meeting who cares enough about the First Amendment to come forward and confirm that's what Trump said.
2
I would challenge Trump to sit down with some network and newspaper people to display his list of fake news citations with source and time stamps of when they occurred and have the news people counter with the video, audio, and fact checked items that prove he's wrong.
Then I'd like him to take an IQ test challenging all the people he has diss'd to see where he really falls in that statistic.
Of course that will never happen but as we sink lower and lower each day with this childish nonsense I would ask the remaining adults in the GOP to step up and save this country from the harm Trump is inflicting on most of us. How will they explain to their grandchildren a country that disavowed climate change, health care, deals with which we gave our word and now the threat of a nuclear war all because of an angry and petulant incompetent who hasn't even been able to deliver what they sold their souls for.
2
AMEN! Thank you for expressing my thoughts so perfectly.
Bruce Sebree - Houston
Next he’ll be floating the idea of a government-sponsored TV network to counter the “fake news”. Anything with this man to spread confusion and distrust among the masses to hide his own incompetence, with the U.S. Constitution the first casualty.
This is what dictators do, folks. If they don’t like the message, they go after it to shut it down and replace it with their version of the truth. I’d like to think it couldn’t happen here, but I’m not so sure anymore. Not at all.
This man has neither the appreciation nor respect for the foundations on which this country stands, which go way beyond a flag and an anthem.
1
A show of hands, please:
Is it NOW finally time to invoke the 25th Amendment?
2
No. Although he is incompetent, merely forcing him out of office is not enough. He is guilty of violating the Constitution and with colluding with foreign powers. He should be impeached and charged with espionage and RICO corruption.
We must elect Americans who can do the job, and not let the Republicans sneaky gerrymandered congressional districts allow them to again gain control of the House despite having a minority of votes for Republicans, nationwide.
Register. Vote. Win.
3
And we must elected them up and down the ballot. It is just as important to have progressive on your local city council as it is in Congress. We must keep the pipeline full.
1
The Trump show has certainly validated the "Peter Principle." Even "House of Cards" seems moderate.
Dystopia, thy name is Trump.
2
Wow. It's just like being back in my history classes, studying the reign of some mad emperor. Only this time, the the era is today, the emperor is the alt-elected head of my own country, and the nutty pronouncements come via his tiny thumbs & a smartphone instead of a stylus & wax tablet.
2
It's not that big a step between preventing sports men and women from making a perfectly legitimate political gesture to shutting down newspapers for reporting the news.
What will come next? Silencing doctors and health professionals? Smashing citizens groups? Rounding up you and your family?
Democracy depends on men and women standing up for what is right and not giving in to bullies and wannabe dictators.
2
That's not at al what a dictator would do. o_0
I fully expect Trump to either suspend the 2020 Presidential election (assuming he lasts that long) or to refuse to step down if (please) he gets voted out. No doubt Paul Ryan will be grinning in the background when this happens.
Whistle-blowing and true fact-based investigative reporting are fine but pure fabrication and sensationalism for click-bait and high ratings are not.
There's a difference. I have confidence in General Mattis on this one. He's a straight shooter who does not play politics.
2
It’s pretty rich when Trump attacks the press for not being honest when he so rarely is.
NBC stands by its story. Frankly, given journalism’s 3 source rule, I trust NBC over a president who doesn’t even use sources beyond his own vivid imagination.
5
Trump is the Father of Fake News. (see BIRTHER)
2
"Asked if he favored limits on what the media can say, he answered, “No. The press should speak more honestly.”
If indeed the press is lying, then yeah.. that public trust broadcast license SHOULD be rescinded. I mean, it's kind of like how those same outlets censor out the majority of opposing opinions by a manual review system lol
2
Freedom of the press is the rock on which American democracy is built. If Trump does not understand this principle he should be removed from office along with his corrupt associates
3
Trump is opening Pandora's Box though he doesn't seem to realize it. If the Federal government can threaten NBC about a story and try to revoke their broadcasting license, then a Democratic administration can threaten Fox News and try to revoke their broadcast license. By interfering with the freedom of the press (subject to limitations specified in law, such as slander, curse words, etc), this opens the door to any administration attacking any media organization because they don't like them.
I'm sure Trump's model is Pravda, that government controlled newspaper. Perhaps he wants a U.S. Pravda, too? Or, maybe he wants a media Czar with absolute powers of censorship? One can only guess what goes through his mind when he gets into these temper tantrums.
3
Attention Republican Congress:
It is time that Congress vote change to presidential impeachment grounds in order that they cover mentally incapacitated presidents. It is outrageous that Americans have been forced to tolerate this current dangerously ill president as long as we have. Who among you is brave enough to stand up for change?
It's starting to seem like he wakes up every day wondering "What would Stalin do? No- I mean crazy Stalin. That's what I'll do today!"
But that just gives him too much credit, I'm sure he has neither the historical knowledge, the curiosity, nor the attention span to think in those terms.
There is no clearer violation of the First Amendment's protections for a free press. Trump is literally threatening to use the powers of his office as head of the executive branch to retaliate against a media outlet for running a story he doesn't like. Trump supporters like to dismiss criticisms of Trump trying to play dictator as mere exaggeration, but what else is it when you have a President who tells the press "don't run stories I don't like or I will shut you down?" It's not a full-blown grab for dictatorial power yet, but Trump is definitely sliding his fingers into the cookie jar.
1
Yes..We as a Nation should look into what this obviously Unhinged president does and says....It's up to the republicans, since they control the government..How long will they accept such behaviour from him?..Corker and Tillerson are correct....DEAL with It.!!
At least he isn’t threatening them WITH nuclear weapons!
Donald J Chaos strikes again! I have no doubt our current president will go down in history as the worst president we have ever endured. He is so impulsive and conniving, I think in all probability there is some kind of collusion with Russia and Mueller and his team will tells us all about it. If nothing else, the case for obstruction will suffice. Mueller and his team cannot work fast enough for me!
Setting aside our continuing slide away from democracy towards an authoritarian regime under Trump, there is no evidence that anything in this NBC report is not true, in fact there is quite a bit of supporting evidence.
And if publishing actual lies and fake news were grounds to shut down a media outlet then we all know that Breitbart and Fox New would have been out of a business years ago.
Real journalistic organizations such as the NYT have something called a corrections section and they acknowledge when they have made a mistake or been proved wrong on something. "The Times welcomes complaints about errors that warrant correction." Ever seen that at Fox or Breitbart? Didn't think so, and that's how you tell real news outlets whose goal is to get to the truth and those who knowingly publish lies and propaganda.
Trumps continues trying to discredit real journalists exactly because the truth they dig for and provide to the American people is the biggest threat to his extremely fragile ego and to his attempt to create an alternative reality where he is not completely incompetent to be President.
I can't believe I'm saying this.... I agree with the President!!! "For Mr. Trump, attacks on what he calls the “fake news” industry have been one of the primary metiers of his presidency, a way to ventilate his deep sense of grievance over news coverage of his tenure while energizing a political base that itself is largely hostile to the mainstream media. At one point, he labeled some outlets “the enemy of the American people.” Of course, I am talking about places like InfoWars and Breitbart, not NBC.... These two outlets are clearly the enemy of the American people!
1
Not to worry. There's always RTV.
He's grooming his propaganda machine for the Big Day, when details of the Russia file appear. Coming soon. Meanwhile, the legit press should not report him as if he was a source of information. Report ON him, as you would do for any other suspect.
I wonder how long our fellow Americans will wait to insist that this president refrain from pretending to be the sole authority of the Law in the USA?
1
"Asked if he favored limits on what the media can say, he answered, “No. The press should speak more honestly.”
If indeed the press is lying, then yeah.. that public trust broadcast license SHOULD be rescinded.
This from a man who promoted the "birther" claims against Obama for years.
14
When will the G.O.P. finally choose allegiance to country over allegiance to party? This is sickening - we so obviously have a mentally unstable man in the Presidency and the only Republicans willing to take action are the ones not running for re-election or dying from cancer. PLEASE won't anyone else in the Republican Party take a knee for our country instead of saluting Trump?
7
The irony is that the self-proclaimed "patriots" who support Trump have no problem with the First Amendment being trampled on by their Glorious Leader. They are instead angry about footballs players taking a knee during the national anthem. Does a person really love America when they have zero regard for, or indeed knowledge of, one of the fundamental guarantees of its Constitution?
5
The biggest fan of lawsuits who "Always wins in court" apparently has never heard of a libel suit. whether he realizes it or not, he has claimed grounds for hundreds of sure winners!
1
Was Mattis at the meeting Trump expressed his desire to increase the nuclear stockpile? If so, is he to be believed or not? So far, it is hard to believe that Mattis would lie. Sadly, it is not hard to believe that Trump would be lying when he questions NBC's veracity.
Unless Trump has genuinely forgotten his stance at the meeting, not exactly reassuring when dealing with an issue of this import or when as President, he is expected to recall his own words and actions. There have been so many instances in which Trump has contradicted himself or repeated himself that it is hard to believe that he doesn't have serious memory problems. If he is suffering from something like Alzheimer's he should not be President.
2
Isn't NBC the same network that brought us "The Apprentice," keeping DJT in the public eye before his ascension to the White House? Some may see it as karma; however, I know that 45 is the Master Distracter, that the Fourth Estate is more valuable than ever, and that if it wasn't for journalists and their craft, we would already be counting the bodies (cinders?) from the blasted Korean Penisula to Japan and beyond. Trump will bully every credible American institution, count on it. So, change this reality show to "The Bully,' and let's hope that it doesn't get renewed.
1
Any senator or member of congress who does not actively work to disable Trump is complicit. We have a majority of incompetent leaders in Washington and indeed in my little city near St Paul where our council majority works for developers and not the best interests of the voters/residents.
Minnesota has sent two talk show radio hosts to represent us, which of course they are not doing. The problem is not that a majority of Americans consistently follow the money trail, but that our flawed Constitution has enabled our leaders to put their greed ahead of our well being. Why aren't critical thinkers proposing a new constitution that would make the possibility of electing these officials difficult or impossible?
2
First he came for the players
Then he came for NBC
Next he comes for me.
2
so NBC effectively claims not enough supporting proof on release of Weinstein story but prints just about anything they hear on trump i.e. pathetically irresponsible
Trump believes that he has license to lie and dissemble with impunity, but cannot tolerate that the print press and broadcast news are protected by the First Amendment. Everyday, he does more to degrade our democracy.
His administration altered video from Puerto Rico, which showed the truth of their efforts to save themselves. This occured at a time that there is not enough food for these Americans. It would not be so bad, if Trump limited himself to watching Fox, sadly he meddles in governing and people are suffering as a result.
2
Britain's King George probably was not too keen on a free press; hence our forebears and founders made certain that an unfettered press in the new nation would be first among equal freedoms. Too bad some presidents of our republic (including the current one) are frightened by facts and opinions. This fear implies that they don't have strong confidence in the back-and-forth parsing that is the hallmark of a healthy national dialogue. Despots and less-than-confident "leaders" try to censor that which might challenge their position. Censorship is a strong indicator of faltering leadership.
3
So, we should rely on social media, like Facebook and Twitter, for an accurate account of what's going on in our nation and the world? Yeah, that's a joke. It's nothing new that mainstream media leans left. The information is what it is. The reporting is factual (granted, at times a bit dramatic), and very important. And to be truthful, it's the information they [Whitehouse, GOP] don't want us to hear that I'm most interested in. Thank you mainstream media for keeping us informed on the ugly truths and trends plaguing America.
2
Sometimes when I get chilled by news like this, while reclining in my pre-war Upper West Side apartment here in Manhattan, I look around me and imagine that the anxiety it raises in me is not unlike that of a Berliner in the early thirties.
3
Mattis and Tillerson who were in the room directly contradicted the NBC news report, by “unnamed sources” saying the reporting was patently false. As much as I dislike Trump, I’m beginning to believe that the media really is out to get him and they lie to do it.
1
This is what today's Republican party has come to.
If Trump were a Democrat, this would be enough to impeach. A threat that is in direct violation of the Constitution, from the President himself. Regardless of any other attempt, this is chilling to free speech, and an official act of our highest elected official.
Of course, the Republicans in congress will do nothing. They will shrug and gnash teeth a little. But this is the Republican President whom they support, whose party of theirs put forth effort and money to get Trump elected, and keeps spending money to justify his Dictatorial tendencies.
1
But he did want to increase the size of the United States Nuclear arsenal. He even tweeted about it. Trump could not comprehend why we do not need more nuclear weapons. Hint, it’s the same reason that the 1st Calvary Division doesn’t need as many horses as they did in 1875
2
While freedom of the press in the United States is protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, the fact that 6 corporations control 90% Of the media In America demonstrates that there is only the illusion of choice and free press.
2
Alright. Enough. This guy, this ersatz president, frighteningly though, one with actual Presidential powers, becomes ever further unhinged as we watch. Clearly, a majority, the more sane segments of our population want this man gone. Sadly, however, his mere presence, his deafness, his narcissism, his greed and his profoundly shallow mind have permitted unfettered access to the corporatist, power hungry, resource extracting, selfish and soulless polluting cabal ever more directly running the country. They and their well paid lobbyists have succeeded in usurping significant control of our legislative bodies nationwide, from the Congress to the State house, making any impetus for our elected 'officials' to deny them access shrink to insignificance. They have much incentive to keep this buffoon in place, for as he ever more loudly bellows, distracting us all with his idiocy, our country's most precious assets are being sliced and diced in boardroom' around the world. We will soon find our public lands in private hands, our environment denuded, ever fewer animals with their habitats intact, and we will wonder who was minding the store.
Yes, trump must go...and right now. But with him must go the prevailing ethic of despoiling the world in the name of personal power and success.
1
This man doesn't want to be President of the United States. He wants to be supreme leader. He has no respect for our constitution. He doesn't have any idea why a free press might be valuable in a democracy. He doesn't understand why democracy itself is valuable. He wants all the marbles. He wants two slices of cake. He wants to steal from the government coffers to support his lavish lifestyle though he claims to be so fabulously wealthy. He wants to silence anyone who would dare oppose him including any journalist who would dare report facts that he views as unflattering. That is why he admires Putin not Lincoln, Duterte not FDR. No amount of attention is ever enough for this deranged octogenarian toddler so he is making another threat and picking another fight. He has come not lead the nation but to wreak havoc on our country and terrorize the citizens of United States. At least those of us who will not bow and kiss the ring. Such tiny hands...
2
I'm not defending Trump by any stretch of the imagination, but did he or didn't he say what NBC purports he said, which is that he wants a ten-fold increase in the US nuclear arsenal?
Because, if he didn't, or if NBC twisted or exaggerated the story to make him look like a moron, then that's fake-ish news. And that feeds his supporters...and NBC is then no better than Trump.
You get rid of Trump you get Pence. Be careful what you wish for.
4
If he wants to gain favor with the press, perhaps the President should throw some paper towels at them.
2
Not like there weren't a room full of eye witnesses to he nuclear build up comments and recordings of similar things he said while campaigning. Yeah that's all fake.
3
Since every other sentence trump utters is a lie why not remove his presidency.
4
This would be funny if it weren't such a pathetic testimony to Trump's utter ignorance. NBC doesn't have a "license" like local television broadcasters. And any attempt to restrict NBC's coverage would be in the courts in a nanosecond, where Trump would lose.
This man has no idea what he is doing, or what he is saying. However these kinds of stupid empty threats match the loud voices at the end of the bar screaming at the television in Trump country.
6
It's entirely credible that Trump made a comment about increasing the nuclear arsenal with no rationale at all (because that's how operates--he loves the fact that he can say any outrageous thing that pops into his head, because he's the president, after all. No doubt after a good deal of explanation he was persuaded that this action would be inadvisable (the nice way of saying "moronic") and is now furious that he has been outed as an ignoramus by NBS reporters doing their job.
4
Who can go after the President who lies, lies lies about everything and anything on a daily basis -- who can STOP him from lying to the American people? He is outrageous and so are those running his authoritarian one-note news channel -- FOX (FAKE) News -- why isn't he screaming about them everyday? Why aren't we -- they lie as much as he does on a daily basis. The FCC should do it's job and take Fox News right off the air -- they have done great harm to this country.
5
The sun rises; Trump threatens.
4
This man is out of control, acting like a dictator. He's a sexual predator, a bully, a liar and a white supremacist. That he is also our President is one of the saddest commentaries about us--how much do we dislike ourselves to have him in charge? When my elderly father was getting his annual check-up and they did the memory test they asked, as they always ask: "Who is President?" "That", he said, "Is something I wish I didn't remember." The nurse said, "I'll take that as you know who it is." Neither of them wanted to say his name.
8
“It is frankly disgusting the press is able to write whatever it wants to write,” Mr. Trump said.
Any yet you, djt, seem to have no problem writing whatever you want, day after day....
4
The man is a disgrace to his office and an embarrassment to the nation.
5
So only trump and his administration can disseminate fake news? When did we become an authoritarian dictatorship? Oh yeah, when his fascist followers voted him into office.
4
Good God what will it be tomorrow?
7
Trump doesn't get it. Journalists have standards and ethics. He has none. So he will always battle the media when they report on his ineptitude.
Keep it up, media. Maybe he'll finally throw up his liddle hands in defeat and go back to New York.
4
Sure sounds like something his BFF Putin would do. Wake up Republicans...Trump truly believes that he's a dictator.
5
When will someone explain to this person occupying the White House that this is a democracy, that a free press is part & parcel of the whole fabric of our country, and that he is not, contrary to his apparently fervent & ignorant belief, Il Duce. Do the lemmings following him into the sea not recognize his attempt to turn us into a Fascist dictatorship? Every day he does another terrifying thing.
8
We are watching the mental meltdown of the president.
13
True although I don't think he started out in a solid state.
10
And what about us? The hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people who haven't had a good night sleep for months!
2
We shall combat and defeat President Trump's attack on our U.S. Constitution.
11
Trump is simply being a bully--using his power to abuse and coerce. Liddle difference from a Weinstein.
5
Yet another ploy to 'energize' his followers. Last week, he used the NFL to denigrate players who have the freedom loving right to protest peacefully with a knee during opening game ceremonies. This week? It's all about belittling and name calling of esteemed Rep. Corker. And, now NBC is in his constitutional-quashing crosshairs.
When are people going to wake up from this Russianesque dictatorship nightmare and call a spade a spade???
24
I don't necessarily trust that Trump is going to tell the truth, but I do believe that Mattis will. He is a highly respected Marine General who was given a 98-1 bipartisan confirmation by a sharply divided Senate. If Mattis says the NBC report is "absolutely false" I'm inclined to believe it is. It seems this story was, at very least, a gross misrepresentation of what was actually being discussed during that meeting.
And while Trump threatening to take away their FCC license is totally preposterous, I can't help but say that Trump has a valid point in that NBC News was very irresponsible in releasing a story like this. It A) gives the fringe right more fuel that all the major news networks are fake, and B) perhaps more importantly, it throws another log onto the flame of US-North Korean relations. Kim Jung Um is probably feeling very spooked right now, and very likely may have a hair-trigger on an ICBM pointed straight at Seoul. A story like that might make him clutch that trigger just a little bit tighter.
27
Blaming the messenger? Mattis may be an upstanding, respected military leader but he works for Trump, which means he lives in denial. He has no choice but to defend Trump and deny what was reported. He knows he has only so many cards to play and he needs to save a few for when it really counts. He's already on record walking back or disavowing Trump's de facto dangerous bluster. This is more of the same.
3
There is a FAR bigger point than if NBC got the story right or not. Threatening the media as president crosses the line - way beyond the line.
2
so you'e saying that nbc should have withheld this news from the public for reasons that are, frankly, specious.
2
What a surprise, but Trump does not understand how the broadcast system works in the United States. The only thing the FCC has control over is over-the air licenses for the individual stations. The FCC can revoke your license for a violation of a number of rules, but it cannot arbitrarily revoke licenses based on what the president says. Even if the wanted to revoke a license, there is a elaborate sequence of events that need to occur before this could happen.
Broadcast networks do not require any license. They merely produce content for "affiliate" station around the country.
Trump cannot "revoke" the license of any broadcast network, since there is nothing to revoke.
But why let facts get in the way.
24
He also thought that repealing the ACA was going to be easy and that Mexico was going to pay for the so far nonexistent wall.
I'm all for the IQ test challenge. Trump, Pence, and the entire cabinet should sit in a room and take a monitored test. Anybody who does not exceed 130 should resign. Certainly we should expect the cabinet to be at least in the upper 2% of intelligence. I suspect maybe the Treasury Secretary would pass. Anybody else?
9
It is so incredibly annoying to listen to Trump complaining about "fake news" when he habitually creates fake news and makes false claims. But I guess if you are as willing to tell lies to boost your "ratings" as Trump is you may believe everyone else behaves the same.
47
If we the people and our representatives in congress allow Trump to serve out his term it will mean that the rule of law means nothing, the constitution and bill of rights are empty scraps of paper, and the United States is nothing more than an entitlement zone for rich people, most of them white and male, so they can do whatever they want without regard to any authority or restriction of any kind.
It will mean that the flag, the Statue of Liberty, the Liberty Bell, the Lincoln Memorial, the Tomb of the Unknown, and everything else, are nothing but a farce.
It will mean that millions of people who died in service to our nation died for nothing.
119
And it will mean that we have all become COWARDS.
STAND UP! Stand up to the bullying DEMOGOGUE!
3
We are watching all of that happen day after day; the whole lot of it is a tragically farcical sham.
One of the first actions wannabe dictators and petty potentates take to prop up their nascent power is to ban, if possible, public news media. If not banning is not possible, harassment, threats must make do...
53
Ingrate. All the major networks gave you free airtime during the campaign, often at length and rarely with adverse commentary. You were Grade B- entertainment of sorts (to some people.) Now you are part of the government; the rules are different. Freedom of the press in is enshrined in the Constitution. (Not to mention you're threatening the network that airs your OWN show. Which is a major conflict of interest. Sheesh. Less slippery sloop than slipping on a banana peel.)
25
Yikes. Where is spell check when you need it. Should read: Less slippery slope than slipping on a banana peel.
1
Does anyone remember Spiro Agnew? He’s been reincarnated as Drumpf.
19
In a bizarre way...that is an insult to Agnew...
If Trump feels that erroneous information has been published that is damaging to his presidency and to him personally, let him file a libel action against NBC. It would be interesting to then place persons attending the meeting under oath, to see if Trump said what he now claims he did't say. The penalties of perjury would be a good reason for people in the room to stop covering for this incompetent, irrational and mendacious chief executive.
I suppose Trump could use an explanation that he lies about so many things he can't remember what the truth is. What a wonderful person our president is.
227
Dear Bubba, great point. He does lie constantly, but I doubt it is a memory issue.
As a malignant narcissist, he has zero respect for the truth. Anything that gets in the way of him getting what he wants when he wants it is "fake news," not because it isn't true, but because he is entitled to lie in order to get whatever he wants. He has been embroiled in litigation and deposed without perjury charges, so I think he can remember the truth if he really has to in his own self interest. But generally, honesty is for suckers in his mind. That's why he lies.
1
He isn't that dumb. He knows crying wolf is effective with his base. That's all that needs to be done to keep them sated. You and I would love to see him in court. It'll never happen. And even if it did, his base would call it a witch hunt and would say those whose testimony proves him a liar, are but liars themselves.
OR, he could release actual information!
It's alarming that our president is clearly in bad straits, mentally speaking, and is obviously not competent to occupy the office.
What's downright terrifying is that about 1/3 of the country are fine with this.
57
Yes, he is a sick and dangerous man. But not only are 1/3 of the country okay with this, but Senators and Congressmen refuse to speak up and describe the situation accurately. That so many are willing to stand idly by while our institutions are threatened reeks of Germany in the 30's.
1
The reality is his base would absolutely love this kind of rhetoric.
Shut down media?
Collude with Russia?
Promote white supremacy?
None of these will make any difference (the last one might help him).
At some point, the pundits and the coastal elite have to admit that Trump is simply a manifestation of what is happening to this country.
Remember,he was elected the President and that he speaks for a large number of people.
Sad,but factually true.
14
Please. For God's sake. I keep my sanity with one hope.
The GOP is planning a mutiny!
20
The scariest part of this whole travesty is not Trump; it is the high likelihood that the GOP won't have the courage to join forces with Democrats to stop him.
14
As others have pointed out, networks (such as NBC) don't have FCC licenses: stations do.
All this complaining by 45 is apropos of nothing.
I wonder if it would have been better for the press to ignore this issue.
10
The most frightening aspect of this article is the content of the NBC report, that Trump wants to increase our nuclear arsenal. His lack of knowledge of or his lack of respect for traditions, customs, history, and basic common sense that he displays on a daily basis truly frightens me. What will it take to remove him from office? A nuclear holocaust? It will be too late if we wait that long. I want to hear more political leaders from both parties raise their concerns. In the meantime, we the people need to take to the streets to say no to war.
17
Hope we make it through this for historians to write of the unprincipled, neutered, corrupt 115th US Congress that sat back and did nothing but focus on their re-elections and money-making opportunities.
32
They shouldn't be able to report it as or call it a news show. A warning label such as "The following is a paid political show consisting of mostly propaganda" should be required.
1
You're referring to Fox News, of course. Correct?
3
I guess your magnificent suggestion would mean that Fox News will have to say that every other minute!
3
And so should absolutely everything Mr. Trump says/tweets/does. Oh, and include "consisting mostly of lies."
NBC prints news without a comments section. In this day and age, doing so amounts to limiting freedom of speech and freedom of the press. So now why are they complaining?
1
People are free to comment to its FB page.
2
Brilliant deduction. My recommendation: don't try out for the debate team.
you can comment all you want on NBC News' FaceBook page. how in the world can you say NBC is limiting free speech or free press?
1
It’s only a matter of time. Trump is going to try to censor the press and punish them for news he doesn’t like. That’s what despots do.
236
during the obama years you would hear all these fox-news type of people warn about an impending "dictatorship" that obama was about to start any day now.
never understood what made them think that the clearly respectful of democratic values obama would become an actual dictator, but nevertheless, they did, or they claimed that they did.
a friend, who clearly listened to those clowns, unfriended me on facebook because i pointed out she shouldn't worry about the impending dictatorship she kept writing about (i must admit I might've slightly made fun of one of her posts).
imagine if obama had threatened to revoke the fox news license (i don't know if there is such license for cable stations, but still).
where are those same voices now? i don't seem to hear them having the same dictatorship worries.
24
Not for the first or last time, he's so wrong and so right. It is ludicrous for him to threaten NBC in that way. Freedom of the press is in the constitution. As I heard someone say the other day, in effect - Can't he love the first amendment like he loves the second?
But, all the same - he is right that the media is very disreputable and getting worse all the time. There has always been a problem b/c people in the press, like in gov't, are human, but Trump's election deranged a lot of them.
1
With all the fake information coming from President Trump, at what point is it appropriate to challenge his presidency?
14
That’s not how the First Amendment works. That’s not ho the FCC works. Trump is starting to sound like Deniro’s character in Casino who needed his own TV show to;set the record straight. Sounds about as stable as well.
5
Hey Congressional GOP majority, how many signs and signals do you need from Trump to tell you to institute impeachment proceedings? He is UNFIT for office. This is a BLATANT and transparent attempt to coerce NBC into silence by abusing his Presidential powers! He must be stopped - NOW.
17
Janet, unfortunately the truth lies in the desires of these Congressional criminals to find the exits so they can work for large corporations or lobbying firms seeking to hire former insiders from Congress. Once they leave The Hill, they are then paid to return where they roam the hallways of the Congress to lobby their friends who remained on the job.
Getting elected to either chamber of the Congress, Senate or House, is simply part of moving up the income ladder after they leave. The most famous being Congressman Billy Tauzin who retired after leading the defeat of discounting drugs for Medicare. He immdiately went to work at president of a large lobbying firm known simply as Big Pharma.
"Mr. Trump’s tweet suggested a potential misunderstanding of how television licenses work."
A polite way of saying that he's ignorant on the subject and did not even take 60 seconds to Google the subject before blurting it out , his typical modus operandi on most everything.
And no Mr. President, you do not capitalize the word license in this context, it is not a proper noun.
11
Policy making by hissy fit. I can't take much more of this. Help us, Robert Mueller, you're our only hope.
23
It's interesting that Trump loved the press when he was just a real estate developer in New York; how many times did he feed Page Six with the sordid details of his divorces? And the fawning over him and The Apprentice. AH but now that he is in a position of consequence, and the press is no longer fawning but actually reporting, all of a sudden they are Fake! He is a menace. He is as bad as Putin and Erdogan. Why aren't the Republicans standing up and saying so?
18
One doesn't have to go far to see just how morally and ethical bankrupt Mr. Trump is. He holds no allegiance to " anyone " not even to the political party he currently identifies himself with.
Trump's petty egoistic narcissism and total lack of constitutional law concomitant with his penchant for authoritarian determinations, have left him creating policies based upon his personal biases and prejudices; tweeting out rants and dictatorial threats that demand heads roll is rather juvenile. But, when it is the president of the U.S- one can only consider it insane rantings. Mr. Trump seems to think he is an 'absolute ruler'!
Time someone in the Senate/House of Representatives gave Trump a wake up call?!
11
He's only threatening totalitarianism. He's not actually going to do it! (famous last words).
6
With each new day, there's a new "chapter book".
Today there are too many new chapters to read, and still be able to function.
Oh how I wish it was all "fake news".
1
Yesterday Turkey tried and sentenced an American journalist in absentia for "terrorism" based on journalism. Every administration in American history would have come out swinging, with a statement about the sanctity of the First Amendment and a lecture on the importance of the free press. Instead, our president threatens the license of NBC. American institutions are robust enough (for now) to resist this latest temper tantrum. But the message the USA is sending to dictators is clear: the world's policeman doesn't care what you do to your press.
10
Trump's modus operadi is using threats, insults, and treachery to create fear and confusion on an international scale. Our elected government officials are *allowing* this to go on. Have they no shame?
10
So fitting that Trump was helped into office by Russia. He embodies Putin's values.
8
It's starts with killing freedom of the press and freedom of expression. Like Germans in the early 1930's, decades from now Trump voters will say, "I never saw it coming ...".
8
The difference is Trump voters see it and don't care. They believe him when he says "fake media" to the point that they only believe what he says. Even as he is destroying their worlds, they will follow him. There is no hope that they will ever understand why he is a problem.
I am sorry Mr. Trump That might be grounds for impeachment if you act like a latter day Nixon.
4
Mr Mueller, I hope you are taking note and adding this to the list of crimes committed by this man and his administration.
6
"I, Donald John Trump, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States,"
Then under his breath he added, "except when people say things that I think are mean. So mean, just horrible, really awful stuff, believe me."
8
Isn't government control of corporations called socialism?
Over-ruling the 1st amendment seems like an impeachable violation of his oath of office.
8
He will forever be remembered as even worse than Nixon.
13
The madness of King Donald is getting ever more frightening -- in a single week he takes on a black woman on a sports channel for sharing a thoughtful pro-democratic view, an NBC hard news outlet for reporting something he doesn't cotton to, football players who care about this country far more than he knows how to do, a leading Senator in his own party who might well determine the fate of his ill-conceived tax cut plan...and many more usurpations of decency that can only lead one to conclude that he is unfit for office and should be subjected to an impeachment trial while there is still time to rescue our republic.
11
Chris:
Jemele Hill called Trump a white supremacist in a prior tweet. Important fact, no?
All I can say to all the Trump voters and Trump apologists is:
Told you so. You were WARNED he would try to destroy all our Constitutional rights, starting with Freedom of the Press. And here he goes....
4
They don't think he's destroying the Constitution. They think he's saving it. This is why there will never be a moment when we all come together again.
2
I respectfully disagree. I don't think they CARE about anything in the Constitution but the 2nd half of the 2nd Amendment, and the 10th Amendment, minus its last 4 words. Guns and States' Rights, as long as those rights don't include legalizing marijuana or establishing sanctuary cities.
1
The problem is that many people believe the radical liberal media networks are actually reporting the truth. Someone has to at the very minimum warn them what they are seeing is mostly propaganda.
1
You mean the way FOX News reports that they are the White House news agency?
2
Back to the woods Don. You had your say and it was clearly not worth the effort.
Do you support the First Amendment, Don? Is there anything radical and liberal about those words? Do you think advertisers of oil, pharmaceuticals and underarm protection are "radical liberals" because they pay money to "the radical liberal media networks" you think are waging propaganda? Don't be silly. Say something clearly about what's at stake when only certain messages can reach your eyes and ears.
For someone so supportive of the second Amendment, I wish he had taken a little more time to read the one before that.
4
He gets money for supporting the second amendment, that's why he "read" it with the palm of his little hands.
1
It seems that Trump is following the same steps with respect to the free press as President Maduro in Venezuela.
What will be next...?
131
What should be next is.....hit the streets...demonstrate against him in every State of the Union, and especially in front of his window, but first....take his Nuclear War button away from those fat itchy fingers..
Donald J. Trump will lose this battle in the court of law. He's lie and spin, but there's not enough spin to hide his lies.
1
Remember that he's filling the Federal courts with ultra-conservative judges who think like him. We cannot count on the courts any more.
If Trump is threatening the death penalty for TV stations he thinks are biased and unfair, it's Fox affiliates that need to worry most.
The reality of course is that in the long history of broadcast regulation and licensing, only one TV station has ever lost its license, a public TV station in the South that refused to broadcast any image of Blacks on-air.
Also federal legislation expressly prohibits the FCC from censorship of programming content.
Trump has repeatedly demonstrated absolute ignorance and belligerent contempt for basic constitutional values and competent governance. How is this not open defiance of his oath of office?
No matter what actual damage Trump has inflicted on America, what is likely to be the most crippling is the population-wide Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that will invariably degrade the quality of democratic engagement for generations to come.
What America best represents to the world -- optimism in the teeth of adversity -- lies in utter ruin, battered to bits by a hurricane of hate, smallness, corruption and deceit.
The malignant tumor in the Oval Office is metastasizing rapidly. Denial now is a death sentence.
11
This is going way too far. This sounds like Erdogan or Kim Jung-Un. Not a president of the United States of America? Let's hope Mueller has something impeachable to present. This man has done more to hurt the United States in less than one year than any other man or women in office anywhere in the free world.
4
Politics as political theater. Man the cat in the Oval office is seriously delusional. He tweets are nothing short of tyranny. I was opposed to using the 25th Amendment to remove Trump but he is clearly out of his mind. What do we need to wait for? A nuclear exchange?
3
If Trump tries to pursue this ( I think it's just more bluster and headline grabbing), it will be the end of his presidency.
2
Here we go again. Trump just can't stop being a bully -- it seems to be in his genes.
That's something our nation can tolerate when it concerns a casino-building con man. But when it's coming straight from the White House, on a near-daily basis, it has to be stopped. If our so-called "representatives" continue to fail to act, We the People should take to the streets.
Sooner rather than later!
6
This is the act of a dictator. And Trump has been acting dictatorial almost daily in the last few weeks. Something has long since gone wrong in his brain, but now the situation is worsening. It is fast becoming the responsibility of the citizenry to push for impeachment -- loudly and unremittingly -- and it is fast becoming the responsibility of patriots in the house and senate to act to contain him.
Trump will NOT be getting better.
365
Something is wrong with our Country. We are being manipulated and unable to do anything about it.
Absolutely, Peter of Philadelphia - Trump will only get worse as he visions himself as a dictator, as a Mafia Boss----and nuttin' good will come from that.
Trump spends all his time blaming other people and requesting recounts, firing people, tweeting before thinking. Why doesn't he channel all this energy in to doing his job and accomplishing something.
2
Perhaps the media conglomerates will pause next time before blowing those emails out of proportion.
3
Sound very Nixon-like. Probably worse...
1
Now? Now are we in a constitutional crisis?
1
Isn't threatening the use of assumed presidential power to disrupt a constitutional right an act of terrorism?
If the media simply refrained from covering him for 24 hours, the lack of attention might send him over the edge completely.
2
Bravado and machismo to impress his 95% (ers) is not presidential, an embarrassment to the country on the world stage but tolerable when one considers the parallel universe the president and his loyalists occupy. However, it is not a far stretch from the daily Fake News exhaust Trump emits from his fertile, 5th grader imagination and his intelligentsia cabinet finding a way to make his wishes come to light so he can be praised a la Kim Jong Un.
Remember, Trump and his oligarchy have no intention of governing for they do not have the skills nor the will. Trump's agenda consists of a personal vendetta against Obama for 2011 regardless of the social body count among Americans. His oligarchy is feverishly dismantling all the levers of government that "impede business". The talking heads at FOX, meanwhile, are wetting themselves from excessive giddiness every time they report about Trump or mention his name. The majority of Americans are in big trouble as a result of this biker gang style of governance and the attacks on the freedom of an independent press is the canary in the coal mine.
3
And the pace of the slow descent toward totalitarianism picks up steam...
Where are our so-called leaders?
1
Shame on the Republican congress for allowing to go on as long as it had.
3
*has* (not "had")
1
Does Twitter have a license that we can revoke?
3
Trump doesn't need help from NBC demeaning himself. He's doing just fine demeaning himself all on his own.
2
That threat, by itself, constitutes sufficient grounds for impeachment.
1
Trump is a master manipulator. So now the story is that he has threatened to challenge NBC's license as opposed to his bizarre request that the United States increase its nuclear arsenal 10-fold. Meanwhile, most Puerto Ricans remain without power. The Mueller investigation continues. California wine country is an inferno. He is proposing a tax plan that will benefit people like him. But, sure, let's keep making his silly tweets front-page news.
2
No one projects more than Trump does:
Failing New York Times means Trump is afraid he is failing.
Fake News NBC means Trump is afraid his fake news and lies will be seen.
Shutting down the press is dictatorial move that he admires in other strongmen. Shutting down the press because the news is inconvenient is pure weakness.
And, the President should be reminded, the airwaves belong to the People, not the President.
409
You are correct.... Trump is "pure weakness" i have never sensed an ounce of confidence or strength from this man... Plenty of arrogance and insecurity nothing that resembles in anyway strength.
1
Yes...but a government agency--the FCC--issues the licenses.
Irene the FCC issues licenses to individual broadcast stations, not broadcast networks, to transmit signals over the air. If the FCC is allowed to be used for political retaliation that would be a unequivocal line crossed toward totalitarianism.
The licenses are for the information of the people not the pleasure of the president. I would suggest reading the Broadcast Programming: Basic Law and Policy at https://www.fcc.gov/media/radio/public-and-broadcasting#DISCRETION that includes "The First Amendment, as well as Section 326 of the Communications Act, prohibits the Commission from censoring broadcast material and from interfering with freedom of expression in broadcasting." and "Because the Commission cannot dictate to licensees what programming they may air, each individual radio and TV station licensee generally has discretion to select what its station broadcasts and to otherwise determine how it can best serve its community of license."
Trump took an oath to protect the Constitution, but apparently struggles with the concept of oath just like he struggles with truth compared to alternative facts ...we agree to disagree
8
I don’t think this Sociopath is capable of taking an Oath! I truly believe he never understood or cared what words he repeated. Because he cares for no limits, no rules, no laws.
He is UNFIT even to take an honest oath. And therefore, to my mind, his lying repetition of the words of the Oath constituted a Sinauguration only.
1
How blatant does the danger to our country and world stability have to get before the 25th Amendment becomes relevant to more people in Congress? I think the military establishment is already aware of this and is trying to keep Trump's irrational behavior contained. In the meantime, continuing damage to our nation continues along with an increasing probability of a genuine, global crisis erupting from a growing list of candidate dangers.
10
Ugh! I’m tired of watching this reality TV show. Trump’s milking the US Treasury for all he can. He wants to extend this gravy train for him, his family and friends, for as long as he can. His only goal is to appeal to his base to get re-elected so he can cash in for another 7 years. He made his money swindling people, now he’s doing the same to the whole country.
13
Our elected representatives in both houses and in State and City Governments should not be allowing Trump to disparage and undermine legitimate news organizations. They use the news, and they should defend it. How can they justify going on talk shows to get their messages out when their silence about these tweets implies that they believe those same shows will fabricate stories and completely misrepresent them?
8
Gen. Mattis says the report is "absolutely false". July 20, 2017 was the day he was sworn in so I'll assume he attended this Pentagon briefing.
Somebody needs to specifically ask the good General if Trump looked at the nuclear capability map circa 1962 and said "I want that".
If the General denies Trump made that specific statement then we have a problem: Gen. Mattis is not being truthful, or the 3 sources who claim Trump made this statement are not being truthful, or NBC is not being truthful or NBC is intentionally being lied to.
Under normal circumstances I would scream "conspiracy theories" at my own comment....not so under this Administration.
1
For the love of "dog", will the legislature please consider the 25th amendment as a viable option before there is irreversible damage.
7
Could someone please get this man into a court of law, where his bluffs can be called, evidence can be demanded, facts can be determined. He thinks he can cancel out the truth by calling it "fake" and establish his own reality by lying about everything. Take him to court. Those who do usually win. He claims they lost, but the records show otherwise.
6
Can't get enough of that Second Amendment. But the wishy-washy First Amendment? Who needs it?
11
This is shocking, coming at a time when I thought I'd lost my capacity to be shocked. Is it unconstitutional for an individual who has sworn to uphold the Constitution to seek to undo constitutional rights?
11
We, meaning Trump, but it's us too, have moved beyond moral decency in to a world where we have been before, so we should know better, but each generation has to learn for iteself, in terms of moral and emotional maturitity. We can stand on the backs of others when it comes to sciene, but it is not so with the simpler thing of emotions and our morals. Each generation has to learn for itself. I do not know why that is the case. It is probably one of those Darwin type things about evolution, etc.. Not that he is understood, but still we have to think about things that do not change much as compared with things that are malleable.
4
I wish I was surprised by this. It's been a very long nine months, with no end in sight.
5
Sadly, he is in principle in sync with today's college students who don't think that anyone should be allowed to say things that hurt their feelings.
Trump should take note of who the winner was in Nixon's fight with the press. Thank goodness for the media because it is the country's last line of defense against Trump's reckless regime.
4
Mr. Trump, in his rallies and tweets, and through his communications staff regularly spreads falsehoods to millions. He denies making statements which were caught on camera, repeats lies which have long been debunked, and labels any news which is unflattering fake. His VP wastes hundreds of thousands on a staged protest of a football game. Trump promised to drain the swamp, criticized President Obama's golf rounds and Hillary Clinton's private server and Goldman Sachs speeches; it's no surprise his administration embodies all which he denounced. Now Trump, once again, seeks to suppress freedom of the press because it reported a military proposal it's completely plausible he would make. For all the braggadocio about "making America great again" Trump seems determined to make America like North Korea, Saudi Arabia or Zimbabwe.
2
In Trump's world honest reporting means no criticism of anything he says or does. He feels his power has no bounds. Tillerson should take him up on that IQ test - might serve to be humbling for Trump despite his "very good brain." There is not one thing he can articulate without subsequent explanation and spin. This is exhausting.
4
“It’s frankly disgusting the way the press is able to write whatever they want to write and people should look into it,” Mr. Trump said.
Okay, Mr. President, I looked into it. Here is what your administration's FCC says.
"The Federal Communications Commission receives numerous complaints that television and/or radio networks, stations or their employees or guests have broadcast extreme, incorrect or somehow improper political, economic or social statements.
"In some cases, the complaints allege that certain broadcast statements may endanger the United States or its people, or threaten our form of government, our economic system or established institutions like family or marriage. They say these statements are “un-American” and an abuse of freedom of speech. . . .
"What is the FCC’s Responsibility?
"The FCC is barred by law from trying to prevent the broadcast of any point of view. The Communications Act prohibits the FCC from censoring broadcast material, in most cases, and from making any regulation that would interfere with freedom of speech. Expressions of views that do not involve a 'clear and present danger of serious, substantive evil' come under the protection of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech and freedom of the press and prevents suppression of these expressions by the FCC. . . ."
Maybe you should see if China needs a smart guy like you to run their country. They prohibit free speech and jail people for dishonoring the flag. You'll love it!
7
It is interesting how the White House attacks anyone who challenges or questions them. Interesting how the White House is keeping silent about anyone who visits Trump at the WH or at any of his properties. Gone is the days when the White House was the people's house. Now it is Trump's Palace. It used to be the house that we built for our president to live in. The house that we paid for out of tax dollars and had Americans build. We used to know who the president was seeing and why, after all he is representing us. But now he's running around like the US is his own private company. He forgot that we elected him to do a job for us, that we need him to be a people's president. My gosh how he has perverted that idea. That is not the way this country was set up. Well, when they have taken away free speech and gotten done distorting, destroying and changing the Constitution it will be time for us Americans to take back America. I am only guessing, but... Americans will only put up with this for so long.
2
I wonder what % of Republicans watch NBC - I suspect it's not an insignificant number.
Nice to see some true Americans on the Right decide to put country before party - oh wait, it's just that one who decided not to run for reelection...what a weird coincidence.
I wish someone could confirm if Trump actually made the statement about wanting a massive increase in our nuclear arsenal. Given the propensity he has shown for preferring military force and disparaging diplomatic solutions to international problems, along with his often stated disregard for existing international agreements, it very much sounds like something he would say. If he did in fact make such a statement it is very troubling, as it shows a total lack of awareness about the implications and possible consequences of such a policy.
2
Matt Lauer made sure to keep us thinking about Hillary's emails, even though we already heard every Q&A on that topic and lobbed flattering, softball questions to Trump. He should have known that Trump very often doesn't pay back favors.
3
Mr. Trump needs to take the time to read the U.S. Constitution particularly the First Amendment. A little less tweeting and more reflection would improve him as a President and us.
1
Like millions of others, I often cringe when Mr. Trump makes off the cuff statements or sends a tweet. This comment is by no means intended to defend his choice of words. However,regardless of my feelings about his conduct, I still want to see accurate reporting. The headline in this story is unsubstantiated by the facts of the story and at best is misleading.
Specifically, Mr. Trump says in regard to NBC "...at what point is it appropriate to challenge their License".
Although I think he should not have even made reference to their license, as I read the quote, it was a rhetorical question.. Someone would really have to make a very subjective judgment to consider his statement as a "threat".
Yet, the headline states "Trump Threatens NBC Over Nuclear Weapons Report".
Sorry, that is not supported by the quote. It may be a conclusion drawn by the author, but on its face the statement is not a threat. Again, I am not defending the statement, but that doesn't negate the responsibility of the paper to report accurately and objectively. In my opinion, this time, it failed that responsibility.
1
An FCC licensee must adhere to FCC rules and regulations. If they don't their license can be revoked.
Any US citizen is entitled file a complaint with the FCC demanding review of a licensee. Even Mr. Trump.
3
According to the FCC website, it licenses only individual broadcast stations -- not TV or radio *networks*, except to the extent that those entities may also be station licensees.
Generally, it has been "small government" Republicans who have pushed for low/non-regulation of businesses; I wouldn't be surprised if some right-wing hypocrites now begin to advocate for more regulation of news outlets and networks, in order to do Trump's bidding. (That would be similar to conservatives shouting "STATES RIGHTS" for years, only to cast aside that principle in order to stop vote-counting in a general election in order to ensure victory by their party.)
A Republican bill pushing for regulation of news networks would exempt Fox News, of course -- and eliminate net neutrality because Fox News would be guaranteed the fastest data rates by law.
The First Amendment is what is saving the country from Trump so far. It is our democracy's greatest asset. The very idea of unfettered free speech, be it through the news media, television, the internet, late night satire, the streets - is Trump's largest and most pervasive enemy. Because he cannot control it. And he knows it. What he obviously does not understand (not surprisingly) is that by attacking the legitimacy of the press it only fans the flames of its critical coverage of him. He has a wild fire on his hands now. Here's hoping it consumes him.
1
"In suggesting that a broadcast network be targeted because of its coverage, Mr. Trump evoked the Watergate era, during which President Richard M. Nixon told advisers to make it difficult for The Washington Post to renew the F.C.C. license for a Florida television station it owned. A businessman with ties to Mr. Nixon filed paperwork to challenge The Post’s ownership of the station. The Justice Department under Mr. Nixon also filed antitrust charges against the three major television networks."
Likely to be the inspiration for the Trump/Miller position.
Reckless news reporting has been around for as long as there has been politics. It is for the individual not to condone this type of reporting and to view all news reports existing somewhere on the spectrum between the actual message (reality/fact/truth) and what the messenger (reporter/agency/business/government) imparts to it. This requires a healthy degree of skepticism by all of us. In my youth 'fake news' was referred to as 'propaganda'. What we heard from Russia was propaganda and what our government told us was 'the truth'. In this context it is deja vu all over again. A significant difference is the current proponent of 'fake news' is an individual with so much baggage and 'messenger influence' and self-congratulatory anger at the system (that serves to further embrace his own financial and emotional needs) he is and will continue to undermine the fundamental bar of decency and any constructive attempts at seeking of solutions.
In this context, I agree with Rex Tillerson.
“It’s frankly disgusting the way the press is able to write whatever they want to write and people should look into it,” Mr. Trump said."
Why shouldn't the press be able to write whatever they want? Do you not do the same with your Twitter account? The correct response in a constitutional republic is to refute or ignore, not silence. If the president is serious with his comment and not trolling again, there sure is a problem in this country from him on down wanting to be the self-appointed thought and speech police. Thank God for the constitution and its' First Amendment. May true patriots always protect it even when they strongly disagree with the opposition.
1
When Trump is reported to having made outrageous remarks, we need to remember to revert to our inner Ronald Reagan: "There he goes again," and wait for the next one to come along.
1
Clearly The Donald's path parallels the current and former president of Venezuela relative to freedom of speech/press, except it was actually done in the later case. And to what effect? A country frozen in political turmoil, bad decisions and horrible prospects looming on the horizon. But here in the USA, we wait for either a leader to emerge from The Donald or a mantis to take him down. The only thing emerging from that cocoon will be a lost decade that The Donald will blame on others did Maduro/Chavez. All the while, he games the system, in self stimulation, for the next 3+ years. Great political theater (AKA Watergate), yes. Necessary pain, probably so. Will we actually learn something long lasting, doubtful. If this were on Cable TV, you'd want to watch it, unless of course you were told the subscription price in advance. Alas, The Donald hide his price list.
While its members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, the F.C.C. is a separate agency mandated to act independently from the White House. Mr. Trump’s tweet suggested a potential misunderstanding of how television licenses work... Wait a minute.. are they insinuating that Trump doesn't know how the government works?
1
Under Donald Trump, if he has his way the Bill of Rights will consist of but one amendment.
Under Donald Trump, if he has his way, the Second Amendment will be the Constitution of the United States in its entirety and, with Trump's creative spelling and editing, easily Tweeted.
1
'The Man Who Would Be King' would like nothing more than to be able to silence the mainstream media. It's a fair certainty that he envisioned himself as the ultimate ruler of this country when he ran for the presidency. Sorry, Mr Trump - it doesn't work that way. It didn't work for Nixon, and it isn't going to work for you. The Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution to keep that exact thing from happening, and the American people will fight for our freedom of speech. Why don't you start doing your job, rather than tweet nasty statements about NFL players expressing their beliefs, Congressmen and Senators telling the truth about the state of politics in DC, and the media doing it's job of informing the public.
News events such as this
must send shudders up the spine
of the NYT. I applaud your
consistent efforts to keep us
informed of the truth. We are
truly in dangerous times. I am
running out of words and am fearful,
very fearful of what this man can do.
3
What we've learned is that Trump will say anything that comes to mind, without actually thinking about it. Nukes X 10, why not? Pull NBC's license, makes great copy even though there is no license, and if there were, he couldn't touch it. Putin, on the other hand — DT's hero — not only thinks like this but can do it too. It must frustrate little Donnie to have so little power.
1
Every year the Senate reads George Washington’s Farewell Address, and every year they ignore it.
“All obstructions to the execution of the laws, all
combinations and associations under whatever plausible
character with the real design to direct, control,
counteract, or awe the regular deliberation and action
of the constituted authorities, are destructive of
this fundamental principle and of fatal tendency.
They serve to organize faction; to give it an artificial
and extraordinary force; to put in the place of the
delegated will of the nation the will of a party, often a
small but artful and enterprising minority of the
community; and, according to the alternate triumphs
of different parties, to make the public administration
the mirror of the ill concerted and incongruous
projects of faction, rather than the organ of consistent
and wholesome plans digested by common
councils and modified by mutual interests. However
combinations or associations of the above description
may now and then answer popular ends, they
are likely, in the course of time and things, to become
potent engines by which cunning, ambitious,
and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the
power of the people and to usurp for themselves the
reins of government, destroying afterwards the very
engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.”
1
If Trump wants to find the greatest threat to America he should start by taking a long, cold, hard look in a mirror. It's him, not the press, that has a way with words that should be kept to itself.
1
It would be great if someone at that meeting would speak out publicly confirming that NBC's report is true. Otherwise Trump lovers will believe Trump and Mattis, Trump haters will believe NBC, and everyone else will wonder what the truth is.
How. Much. More. Will. The. GOP. Allow?
ANY American who thinks this stuff is ok, SERIOUSLY needs to reconsider what country they want to live in. I'd like to stick with the country where THIS is NEVER EVER said by a president. And if he does say it, he is run out on a rail.
I am so far beyond disgusted. We cannot take ANY more.
4
Mr. Trump and his merry band of misfits and co-conspirators should pay a bit more attention to what the first amendment says, and a bit less to the second!
They seem determined to change this country from one, "of the people, by the people and for the people", to one 'of the corporation, by the board of directors, for the stockholders'!
Isn't this kind of threat extortion to extent that Trump wants NBC to modify its reporting in exchange for NOT ending their broadcast license? If it is extortion, why doesn't the relevant district attorney file charges against Trump? I'm confident Trump is very familiar with extortion, particularly in New York City.
1
I wonder how Trump would have felt if President Obama sued him for slander for the whole birther movement Trump invented. See, here is the thing if it's the truth it's not fake. Unlike Trump who thinks if he says something then of course it must be true.
1
Putin sure knew who he was installing in the American Presidency to take us down. Yet, even Putin must be surprised by the extent of this Emperor Nero like behaviour, and how fast it is accelerating. Only his almost running mate Corker who not long ago helped install Trump has the guts on that side of the aisle to begin calling it for it is.
2
This is the most dangerous man in America. The longer he is in office, the more apparent it becomes that he is our country's clear and present danger. His autocratic impulses continue to endanger the freedom of the press, and therefore liberty in general, more than any president is our history. I genuinely fear for this republic.
3
Why NBC and not the other networks? Because NBC cancelled the Apprentice. There seems to be someone in this administration who figured out that they can take Donny's personal beefs and turn them into alt right attacks. Why the NFL and not other sports? Because the owners rejected him years ago.
2
I know...I know!
And yet there is a sizable number of voters who think his actions, tweets and pronouncements are Great!
Who are they? What are they thinking?
I don't understand.
NY Times, please shed more light on who these people are, and why they support him, in spite, or because of what he says and does.
1
Yet more calamity from Trump, and polls will certainly show that some ~70-80% of Republicans will still be in support of him. Not only is Trump certainly a demagogue, but his followers will continue to adore him and go out of their way to live in a fact-free alternative universe.
2
"...it may just be an idle threat, the sort of bluster that (Trump) has regularly used to keep perceived adversaries off balance." WHAT?!! I'm sorry, but the guy who holds the highest office in this country doesn't get to "bluster"-about ANYTHING and for ANY reason. And I'm shocked that Peter Baker was one of the writers. Please don't go there again. And don't try to liken it to what JFK, Johnson and Nixon did. This is far more serious and dangerous.
1
If Trump's lies don't get him impeached, I don't see how reporting them can be a reason to yank a license.
16
Using logic will not make you a happy person.
1
I'm sure there was a stenographer or it was recorded. He could clear this up easily.
I'm sure
8
We all know what's needed: LOCK HIM UP!
14
Every day, it's Donald Trump versus the United States of America.
One of us has to go.
19
I wouldn't mind Trump setting a standard for accuracy that Breitbart, Alex Jones, Fox News...would have to adhere to. Not to mention his own pronouncements.
10
"“It’s frankly disgusting the way the press is able to write whatever they want to write and people should look into it,”..."
This is what a free press does, something Trump has contempt for and especially when a free press shows him up as a know-nothing which he is. That other presidents have had their misgivings and fights with the press is true but they didn't threaten to pull the license from a network and cut off that network airing news.
Trump is taking his cue from the tyrannical rule of tyrants everywhere and especially from Russia's Putin who has stifled a short-lived Russian free press. Russian reporters have even been murdered. Trump's war against our free press, whether knowingly or not, are cues to one or more of his admirers among white supremacist groups or neo-Nazis to commit violence against a reporter or even murder.
Almost every day our country appears to be in some kind of crisis and the blame is squarely on the enemy among U.S., the unhinged occupant in the Oval Office.
5
He needs to leave. Using tax rules to alter corporate policies and the behavior of employees? (NFL) Using a threat regarding broadcast licenses to affect news coverage? (NBC) He is completely unaware of what country he is in. This is the USA NOT China, Russia or N. Korea. He is the fake. The Fake President.
7
As far as I am aware, no president has the authority to revoke a broadcasting license. However, just saying so proves once again how ignorant Trump is about our laws and Constitution. Funnily enough, he swore an oath to uphold them!
What a ridiculous con-man.
13
Keep it up 45. Your days are numbered. Your alternate reality is getting old.
8
Please be careful saying stuff like that ... Much as many of us desperately want this terrible man out of office - preferably in prison - you don't want a visit from the Secret Service.
Will Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan (the cowards!) PLEASE INFORM Donald that we have a Constitution, and that Constitution protects Freedom of the Press!!!
Where are the Republicans?!!! They should be speaking out against this fake president!!!
6
Which is worse, scrapping Nafta or scrapping our Constitution, specifically the first amendment? The NYT's placement of these two stories gives them backwards importance.
1
Would it be possible for the US news media (as a group) to file a class action lawsuit (for Slander) against the Federal Government, Donald Trump and his administration for the damage and harm done by the Trump Administration relative to the "Fake News" claim and constant tear down of our media and free press? Trump reacts poorly to the truth and tells lies to the public almost daily which have been well documented by The NY Times. The "Fake President" should be held accountable for his lies, his negative words and actions to all media outlets.
5
Trump better leave the media alone or he will have bigger trouble than he now has. Americans value their news freedom more than life itself. Lay off. Trump!
8
No regard for the constitution plus... the mad man is in control of the nuclear codes. Enough is enough!
3
Mattis saying "This kind of erroneous reporting is irresponsible.” Can the General shed some light that 'Rocketman' (in United Nations), 'Fire & Fury', and many more like that were responsible statements by the President of the United States?
1
If there’s anything fake in this country, it’s the Fake Presidency.
4
Wow. This naked emperor must be under the illusion that he is ruling an empire.
3
This is a man who misspeaks, exaggerates and flat-out lies as easily and continually as other people breathe. And HE’s crying fake news?
7
Silencing the "fake news' will not silence the voices in his head. Only therapy and medication will accomplish that.
5