It's Not All Fake News

Many in the press have been terribly unfair to Donald Trump. They have even written stories that are totally untrue. However, President Trump is also being unfair. Time and time again he has complained about “fake news”. His definition seems to be any news he doesn’t like.

A perfect example is his recent visit with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. There have been many stories that said the meeting didn’t go well. While posing for pictures, she asked him if he wanted to shake hands. He didn’t respond (his spokesperson claimed he didn’t hear the question). After the meeting he roundly criticized Germany for their lack of military spending. Given these facts and his abrasive personal style, it is doubtful that they are now BFFs. However, he said that the meeting went well and any story to the contrary was fake news.

It looks like he expects the media to only write what he tells them. That would be fine if he were a dictator, but he is president of a democracy that treasures its freedoms. My biggest objection to him is not his policies or his temperament. After spending his working life as a feudal lord, he just doesn’t seem very comfortable with some of our democratic ideals.
​
Every president since George Washington has had problems with the press. He is the first one to have problems with the First Amendment.
​