Professor Joshua Rothman’s Washington Post Piece Explores the Historical Background of Attacks on the Press.

Anthony Scaramucci
Former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci.
Photo courtesy of the Washington Post.

The following article by Dr. Joshua Rothman appears in the August 1, 2017 edition of the Washington Post

“The constant churn among President Trump’s communications staff — including the abrupt ouster of Anthony Scaramucci, who days ago promised to bring “an era of a new good feeling” to press relations in his role as communications director — has not obscured the underlying principle driving their media efforts: unremitting hostility toward a free and objective press.

“Even newly appointed Chief of Staff John F. Kelly appears to scorn the news media. In May, when a ceremonial saber was given to Trump at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy graduation ceremony, Kelly suggested that Trump might “use it on the press.” The president seemed to like the idea, as well he might. Last month, he retweeted a GIF depicting his appearance on “WrestleMania” with a CNN logo superimposed on the face of the man he pummeled.

“While both Trump and Kelly passed off their comments as jokes, the increasingly commonplace threats of violence directed at the press ought to be taken quite seriously. …”

Continue reading at this link.