McCain criticizes Trump for calling media 'the enemy': 'That's how dictators start'

[Felya]

Trump is fairly normal, if more crude and potty mouthed? America has been doing terrible sins since the dawn of the 20th century.

Absurd... there has never been a president like Trump. There has never been one both so vocal against the media, while also providing far more material to criticize than any other president. Having a former executive of a media source he claims we should trust, be his actual strategist, is not normal. People defending a US president by saying America has fond terrible things, is not normal. You are being incredibly dishonest... Show me a single president to communicate as much as Trump does on twitter to not even make it normal, but not an extreme and only outlier.

When you reply to me pointing at the amount of information he is putting out through twitter, with "it's normal"... the issue isn't credibility of news, but definition of reality.

Obama did evil but was eloquently spoken and I guess he did his evil that certain players liked, so its all good I suppose.

Yeah, and I don't remember you excusing anything he does because Bush did the same thing. Yet, despite the massive difference between Trump and Obama in communion volume alone, to justify the volume of media reporting, you go with normal?

[Darththeo]

This is a situation where in modern America, about half the population now hates its own media. That wasn't the case even a few years ago.

I think this resolves in one of two ways:

1. The mainstream media moves to the right. This is what you might call "The Perot Gambit". Ross Perot was a third party force in 1992 in US politics. He won over many voters with his federal debt reduction issue. To fix the problem, the democrat and republican parties co-opted his message. They also pledged to reduce the debt and this took away Perot's political power. Without that, maybe Perot becomes president. Let's apply the Perot gambit to Trump. Republicans now totally distrust the mainstream media. So to fix it, you move the media to the right on several issues. Less identity politics. More favorable coverage of religion and guns. Do that, and republicans will probably start to approve of the media again.

2. The public leaves the mainstream media behind for alt-right media. If the mainstream press stubbornly refuses to acknowledge they have lost massive credibility with republicans, republicans will find somewhere else to get their news. That could be pretty random. They might wind up anywhere from Breitbart to Stormfront. This is the less appealing option because in the end the media will be slanted much further to the right than if the mainstream press updated their own programming.

False dichotomy. You are assuming the issue is solely on the side of the media. Neither of these will actually solve the problem.

[Theodarzna]

Absurd... there has never been a president like Trump. There has never been one both so vocal against the media, while also providing far more material to criticize than any other president. Having a former executive of a media source he claims we should trust, be his actual strategist, is not normal. People defending a US president by saying America has fond terrible things, is not normal. You are being incredibly dishonest... Show me a single president to communicate as much as Trump does on twitter to not even make it normal, but not an extreme and only outlier.

When you reply to me pointing at the amount of information he is putting out through twitter, with "it's normal"... the issue isn't credibility of news, but definition of reality.

Actually I think our country ethnically cleansed and annihilated or tried to annihilate its previous inhabitants and built a whole country on its bones. We also used a race of people as living farm equipment you could legally own. So, yeah, America has a long and storied history of fucked up shit.

Plus lets factor in all the horrible atrocities of the Cold War if we want to just stick to the 20th century and beyond.

[Berndorf]

At this point McCain can't retire. He's one of the few voices of reason willing to stand up to Trump and challenge him publicly and showing everyone that not everyone in the GOP is nutso.

McCain hasn't been anything close to a voice of reason since before 9/11. He is the biggest example of how nutso the republican party has been for the last 15 years. Maybe you just started following politics a few months ago though.

[Sylvestra]

You are normalizing Trump. The fact that media never covered Obama's firing of an advisor due to lying, isn't because they fawned over Obama. Obama didn't provide a shit ton of tweets to scrutinize daily. The fact that you ignore the cause of the effect, doesn't mean those not reporting on Obama's twitter war with the Pope, are biased.

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Because the reason they are not trust worthy is Trump. The lies are you to ignore are directly involved with Trump. You wanted the media to cover FEMA camps more? Would that make them unbiased?

Trump is not the reason they are not trust worthy, he just called them out on it. It's nothing new that people don't trust the media, it did not start with Trump. They cherry pick what to report so it fits their narrative, is that what you want from the media? When I watch the news I'd like to know OBJECTIVELY what is going on, not a twisted story.

But hey if you like the media to tell you what you want to hear instead of the truth, so be it.

[Machismo]

When Trump and his administration stop lying, or at the very least, admit to their lies... then I'll take them seriously on the issue of a dishonest media.

[Darththeo]

McCain hasn't been anything close to a voice of reason since before 9/11. He is the biggest example of how nutso the republican party has been for the last 15 years. Maybe you just started following politics a few months ago though.

No I don't think he has, but you sound like you have.

[Felya]

Actually I think our country ethnically cleansed and annihilated or tried to annihilate its previous inhabitants and built a whole country on its bones. We also used a race of people as living farm equipment you could legally own. So, yeah, America has a long and storied history of fucked up shit.

Plus lets factor in all the horrible atrocities of the Cold War if we want to just stick to the 20th century and beyond.

Then don't disagree with the even far far far left media saying that. Just because you think it's a good thing, while the media doesn't report destroying the country as a good thing, doesn't make them bias. The fact that you are trying to play along with it being fake and preemptively say Trump is normal, before going on to describe how unique he is, just shows how warped your perception is.

[Torgent]

Trump is not the reason they are not trust worthy, he just called them out on it. It's nothing new that people don't trust the media, it did not start with Trump. They cherry pick what to report so it fits their narrative, is that what you want from the media? When I watch the news I'd like to know OBJECTIVELY what is going on, not a twisted story.

But hey if you like the media to tell you what you want to hear instead of the truth, so be it.

He's not calling them out on anything. He's yelling at them for criticizing him and correcting his lies. Or reporting on something he doesn't think is important....like Flynn...like Conway's trainwreck of a career....like Spicer not knowing what the fuck is going on....

[Felya]

Trump is not the reason they are not trust worthy, he just called them out on it. It's nothing new that people don't trust the media, it did not start with Trump. They cherry pick what to report so it fits their narrative, is that what you want from the media? When I watch the news I'd like to know OBJECTIVELY what is going on, not a twisted story.

But hey if you like the media to tell you what you want to hear instead of the truth, so be it.

Bullshit! The things that sources Trump claims are truthful, that the media didn't cover enouph. Is shit like Obama's FEMA camps, federal take over of local police (now praised with Trump doing as much in Chicago), Obama founding ISIS, Hillary bathing in the blood of children, Obama being an extremist anti-white Christian, Obama not being born in US, Obama being a communist Manchurian candidate and many more... while the current fake news media is reporting, is that Flynn resigned due to lying about communication with Russia. Manafort resigned because of his ties to Russian oligarch. Trump being the first president in modern history to neither reveal his tax returns or put his business in a blind a trust. Maybe you think they lie about a Muslim ban, even though Trump campaigned on one?

Yeah, it is Trump...

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Yeah, I like free press. Yeah, I think free press is a necessity. Yeah, I think the press is the only thing that can hold the president and government accountable. Don't believe me? How much did Trump claim to see of the pipeline protestors and how swift was Flynn's resignation?

Yeah, I'm not afraid of being insulted for defending the free press.

[Theodarzna]

Then don't disagree with the even far far far left media saying that. Just because you think it's a good thing, while the media doesn't report destroying the country as a good thing, doesn't make them bias. The fact that you are trying to play along with it being fake and preemptively say Trump is normal, before going on to describe how unique he is, just shows how warped your perception is.

Don't disagree? Who do you think you are?

Nothing in that word salad even made sense.

[Felya]

Don't disagree? Who do you think you are?

Nothing in that word salad even made sense.

You just asked me, who you think I am, to then be indignant? I don't expect it to make sense to you, otherwise I wouldn't be questioning your perception of reality. I'm a random internet poster... sorry for the lack of fanfare on that reveal...

[gamon500]

So you are suggesting Thomas Jefferson wanted the same thing when he said there is very little that can be taken as the truth from the newspapers? I hope Trump is remembered like Jefferson was.

Yeah, Jefferson said that about reports that he had slept with his slave, Sally Hemings. And it turned out that he had six kids with her. So...

And he also said:

"The only security of all is in a free press. The force of public opinion cannot be resisted when permitted freely to be expressed. The agitation it produces must be submitted to. It is necessary, to keep the waters pure." --Thomas Jefferson to Lafayette, 1823

If Trump says something in a speech that's easily checked, why on earth wouldn't you check it?

[vipers]

That's not what Trump wants and that wasn't what Jefferson and Lincoln wanted either ... Trump doesn't want them to be "responsible" but report the news as HE sees fit.

take freedom from the press and its just like on russia right now

[thilicen]

Did Trump say what the big news over in Sweden yesterday was yet? I'm dying to hear it. Seeing as he's all about honesty and hates the lying press, there had better be some juicy shit that somehow went over our heads.

[Kiri]

Trump is not the reason they are not trust worthy, he just called them out on it. It's nothing new that people don't trust the media, it did not start with Trump. They cherry pick what to report so it fits their narrative, is that what you want from the media? When I watch the news I'd like to know OBJECTIVELY what is going on, not a twisted story.

But hey if you like the media to tell you what you want to hear instead of the truth, so be it.

True, the media has always been slanting stuff. However, Trump is not calling out all media to do that. He is only on his fake news crusade against anyone who disagrees with him/exposes his falsehoods. He praises Fox News like all the time, which doesn't appear that much more truthful than other media outlets, agglomerated.
I don't mind it when people call the media out, as long as they call all of it out. And don't make Trump out to be a paragon of honesty in comparison. But doing it one-sidedly is just feeding into his meta-agenda.

[Shadowferal]

McCain hasn't been anything close to a voice of reason since before 9/11. He is the biggest example of how nutso the republican party has been for the last 15 years. Maybe you just started following politics a few months ago though.

Maybe you should have read the link...or better yet pay more attention to what is going on in politics...today.
Because when it comes to comparing the current nutjob-in-chief almost everyone that isn't part of that idiotic admin is going to seem sane and reasonable in comparison.

[Independent voter]

McCain himself would say that he was treated unfairly by the press many times over his career, he's just too much of a politician to say it in public.

A lot of people voted for Trump because Trump wasn't a politician.

[Shadowferal]

McCain himself would say that he was treated unfairly by the press many times over his career, he's just too much of a politician to say it in public.

A lot of people voted for Trump because Trump wasn't a politician.

had everyone known he was a dumbass I'm sure 3rd part candidates would have seen a big boost.

[Sylvestra]

True, the media has always been slanting stuff. However, Trump is not calling out all media to do that. He is only on his fake news crusade against anyone who disagrees with him/exposes his falsehoods. He praises Fox News like all the time, which doesn't appear that much more truthful than other media outlets, agglomerated.
I don't mind it when people call the media out, as long as they call all of it out. And don't make Trump out to be a paragon of honesty in comparison. But doing it one-sidedly is just feeding into his meta-agenda.

I agree with you. I'm not saying Fox news is any better nor Trump. But people foolishly defending the media calling "bullshit" on their critisizers are just insane. They ignorantly defend the press. I want honest news outlets that let people make up their own mind, not this biased nonsense they feed people with, and yes that goes for Fox news too.