The Oath of Office as President of the United States:
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
I voted for Trump. I supported him tooth and nail, but it has become evident through his attack on the press, that he has violated his sacred oath of office.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
By taking his sacred oath of office to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution, President Trump agreed to Uphold the First Amendment regardless. His war on journalism and the media is not only a violation of the Constitution but shows a great deal of disrespect for it.
In essence, Trump wants to silence any voice that either opposes him or exposes him. This isn’t just about mainstream media folks. This is about stripping the press’s right to publish. The president simply has no right to interfere with the free press or free speech regardless of whether it is aimed at him.
Quoted from Trump’s speech at the White House in July of 2019:
“To me free speech is not when you see something good and then you purposely write bad,” he insisted. “To me that’s very dangerous speech, and you become angry at it. But that’s not free speech.”From an article on Politico seen here:Having previously established himself the foe of the First Amendment—calling defenders of free speech on the internet “foolish people,” coercing White House staffers into signing nondisclosure agreements, attacking the mainstream press as the enemy of the people and urging the jailing of flag-burners—Trump has seemingly switched sides.
He even brought Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to the Oval Office recently to lecture him on how to run his platform, telling him the site was “very discriminatory” and “hard for people to sign on.” Accusing Twitter of “playing their political games” (on Twitter, no less), Trump writes, “No wonder Congress wants to get involved—and they should,” a statement that all but threatens regulation of speech.
In a recent article by the Intercept stating the A to Z reasons for impeachment (Which I disagree only with their statement on Roger Stone and Wikileaks) seen here:
MEDIA ATTACKS
Trump, as even Fox News host Chris Wallace observed last week, “is engaged in the most direct, sustained assault on freedom of the press in our history.” The president has asked the FBI to jail reporters who publish leaks, threatened to revoke the broadcast licenses of media organizations that criticize him, and relentlessly attacked and demonized journalists as “scum,” “slime,” “sick people,” “fake news,” and “the enemy of the people.” Members of the press have received death threats from people echoing the president’s vile language.
Trump has called the press, which would include independent journalists such as myself, “Enemies of the People.” There is a long history behind this phrase going back to Roman times but in recent history, it was used by the NAZIS against the Jews, by Stalin and Lenin against those who opposed communism and used to label revolutionaries who were executed during the “Reign of Terror” in the French Revolution. Consequently, it was used to give anyone who opposed their government’s tyranny. This is a dangerous label to place on the press.
According to an article in the Business Insider seen here:
“The formula ‘enemy of the people was specifically introduced for the purpose of physically annihilating such individuals,” Khrushchev said in a 1956 speech to the Soviet Communist Party.
The question being raised then is if Trump intends to annihilate journalists. It appears so in his statement on Wikileaks in 2017:
“I think it’s disgraceful, I think there should be like death penalty or something,” Trump said during the quick exchange uncovered online by CNN’s KFile.”
With the founder of Wikileaks behind bars awaiting extradition to the U.S. to face 18 indictments under the antiquated Espionage Act, escalated by the Trump administration, it is obvious Trump is waging war not just on the press in his own country but worldwide. If Assange is extradited and convicted, it will set a precedent against anyone who speaks up against criminal activity by the U.S. government. This opens doors to all sorts of terrible atrocities being committed. Trump has managed in his hateful rhetoric of journalists who mostly just want to keep the People informed, in turning many against us, maybe even provoking violence. Many of us have received threatening letters and even death threats by simply reporting.
With journalists under fire, like Assange and Greenwald, and many being murdered like Khassogi and the journalists in Ecuador, to continue attacking the press is extremely dangerous.
The job of journalism was once viewed as holding the government accountable for its actions. Many of the founding fathers understood this as seen in the quotes below:
“No government ought to be without censors, and, where the press is free, no one ever will.”
Thomas Jefferson“Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.”~Thomas Jefferson
“The liberty of the press is essential to the security of the state.”
~John Adams
“Freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government: When this support is taken away, the constitution of a free society is dissolved.”
~Benjamin Franklin
“The freedom of speech may be taken away, and dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep, to the slaughter.”— George Washington
A free press is essential to liberty and holding government accountable regardless of Donald’s hurt feelings. Any war on free press is a war on the Constitution and therefore is a war on its citizens who are protected by it. Trump has violated his oath of office by attacking the right to free press. The founding fathers would be disgusted by this onslaught and behavior from an elected leader.
Angel Fox Media 