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U.S. president calls journalists "among the most dishonest human beings on earth” or that his chief strategist dubs the media “the opposition party." I think t

U.S. president calls journalists "among the most dishonest human beings on earth” or that his chief strategist dubs the media “the opposition party." I think their reason to respond is self-explanatory.

protomyth 10y ago
Prior administrations have had some amazingly unkind things to say about the press. I don't think those comments are any reason to respond.
- AnimalMuppet 10y ago
  From my memory, what Trump said is unprecedented. If you have contrary data, please share it.
  - protomyth 10y ago
    President Obama as his comments on Fox News (he went farther and included comments on their viewers). For a bit of history, President Jackson was fairly salty with his views of newspapers. Unprecedented has pretty much been they insulted my guys instead of their guys.
    - AnimalMuppet 10y ago
      Look, I'm not trying to argue with you, I just don't remember. What, specifically, did Obama say about Fox News? (I don't care about Jackson; I hope that civility has improved since then, though recent evidence casts doubt on that position.) Remember, the statement to beat is when Trump called journalists "among the most dishonest human beings on earth”.
      - protomyth 10y ago
        President Obama was a bit more elegant but: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/obama-in-command-br-the-rolling-stone-interview-20100928 http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/obama-in-command-b... http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/18/media/president-obama-fox-news-rush-limbaugh/ http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/18/media/president-obama-fox-ne...
        AnimalMuppet 10y ago
        Sorry to disagree, but I don't see "Fox has a definite point of view" and "misinformation" as being comparable to "among the most dishonest human beings on earth". The first Obama quote says they're biased; the second Obama quote says they're lying; but the Trump quote attacks their character, not just their actions.
        protomyth 10y ago
        I see you cherry-picked the least problematic quotes: "If all you're doing is watching Fox News and listening to Rush Limbaugh and reading some of the blogs that are churning out a lot of misinformation on a regular basis, then it's very hard for you to think that you're going to vote for somebody who you've been told is taking the country in the wrong direction." "It's a point of view that I think is ultimately destructive for the long-term growth of a country that has a vibrant middle class and is competitive in the world. But as an economic enterprise, it's been wildly successful. And I suspect that if you ask Mr. Murdoch what his number-one concern is, it's that Fox is very successful." You might think there is a difference between "attacks their character, not just their actions", but a person's actions are their character. President Obama was more elegant but his behavior is no different.
        AnimalMuppet 10y ago
        I wasn't cherry-picking at all, though I should have said "a lot of misinformation on a regular basis" rather than just "misinformation. I still think that those quotes are considerably less harsh than Trump's, and that the difference is not just that Obama worded it more politely. I also think the second quote that you gave is actually less of an attack than what I quoted from the same article. > a person's actions are their character. Agreed, or at least their actions reveal their character. But I think it is also true that, socially, questioning someone's character is a step past questioning their actions. It doesn't make logical sense if character = actions, but I think that it's true socially.
        protomyth 10y ago

protomyth 10y ago

Prior administrations have had some amazingly unkind things to say about the press. I don't think those comments are any reason to respond.

AnimalMuppet 10y ago
From my memory, what Trump said is unprecedented. If you have contrary data, please share it.
- protomyth 10y ago
  President Obama as his comments on Fox News (he went farther and included comments on their viewers). For a bit of history, President Jackson was fairly salty with his views of newspapers. Unprecedented has pretty much been they insulted my guys instead of their guys.
  - AnimalMuppet 10y ago
    Look, I'm not trying to argue with you, I just don't remember. What, specifically, did Obama say about Fox News? (I don't care about Jackson; I hope that civility has improved since then, though recent evidence casts doubt on that position.) Remember, the statement to beat is when Trump called journalists "among the most dishonest human beings on earth”.
    - protomyth 10y ago
      President Obama was a bit more elegant but: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/obama-in-command-br-the-rolling-stone-interview-20100928 http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/obama-in-command-b... http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/18/media/president-obama-fox-news-rush-limbaugh/ http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/18/media/president-obama-fox-ne...
      - AnimalMuppet 10y ago
        Sorry to disagree, but I don't see "Fox has a definite point of view" and "misinformation" as being comparable to "among the most dishonest human beings on earth". The first Obama quote says they're biased; the second Obama quote says they're lying; but the Trump quote attacks their character, not just their actions.
        protomyth 10y ago
        I see you cherry-picked the least problematic quotes: "If all you're doing is watching Fox News and listening to Rush Limbaugh and reading some of the blogs that are churning out a lot of misinformation on a regular basis, then it's very hard for you to think that you're going to vote for somebody who you've been told is taking the country in the wrong direction." "It's a point of view that I think is ultimately destructive for the long-term growth of a country that has a vibrant middle class and is competitive in the world. But as an economic enterprise, it's been wildly successful. And I suspect that if you ask Mr. Murdoch what his number-one concern is, it's that Fox is very successful." You might think there is a difference between "attacks their character, not just their actions", but a person's actions are their character. President Obama was more elegant but his behavior is no different.
        AnimalMuppet 10y ago
        I wasn't cherry-picking at all, though I should have said "a lot of misinformation on a regular basis" rather than just "misinformation. I still think that those quotes are considerably less harsh than Trump's, and that the difference is not just that Obama worded it more politely. I also think the second quote that you gave is actually less of an attack than what I quoted from the same article. > a person's actions are their character. Agreed, or at least their actions reveal their character. But I think it is also true that, socially, questioning someone's character is a step past questioning their actions. It doesn't make logical sense if character = actions, but I think that it's true socially.
        protomyth 10y ago