Donald Trump‘s latest attempt to enact his totalitarian dream for America became evident this week when he suggested challenging the licences of broadcast news networks that are critical of Trump and his administration.
In Trump’s world, any news or commentary that is critical of his actions is deemed to be “fake news,” yet, he never offers any information to validate his claims.
Trump’s attempt to silence opposing views is a direct attack on the constitutional right of freedom of the press, and if it were to happen, it would move America toward the frightening society described in George Orwell’s novel, 1984.
In Trump’s America, you can have freedom of the press as long as the press only reports what the president wants them to say.
You can have freedom of expression, as long as your opinion is the same as the president’s opinion.
Trump’s expressed admiration for strong dictators should have sent up a red flag about the kind of leader he aspired to be.
Interestingly, the only other president who suggested shutting down the free press was Richard Nixon, when the Washington Post started to investigate Nixon’s involvement in the Watergate affair, and we know that it was the diligence of the free press that led to the downfall of the Nixon administration.
For the sake of America’s future, we can only hope that history will repeat itself.
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