Trump's media war 'calculated distraction' from Russia, say observers
On Feb. 24., several news organizations — including the New York Times, CNN and BBC — were barred from attending an off-camera press briefing in White House press secretary Sean Spicer's office.
"We're just not going to sit back and let you know, false narratives, false stories, inaccurate facts get out there," Spicer told reporters.
The move caused an uproar among the Washington, D.C., press corps, many of whom called it a slap in the face to a free and open press.
Paul Adams, an associate professor at the Carleton School of Journalism and Communication, calls the move a "calculated distraction" from what he sees as a much more important story: the Russian involvement in the Trump campaign.
"But I think you can also step back a little bit and say, 'look take apart this phrase enemy of the people' which Trump has aimed at the media — the enemy — there is obviously the media but who are the people?" Adams tells The Current's Anna Maria Tremonti.
"This phrase comes from Soviet terminology. It was a phrase used to isolate anyone who opposes Stalin in particular. And when you look at the history of the definition of the people in the 20th century with the various 'isms', the people were not every citizen of the state — the people were a particular ethnic group."
Senior editor of the Atlantic David Frum says the "coverup" to avoid reporting on the connection between Trump and and Russia is "so terribly serious."
"What goads the Trump administration into its press crackdown, is anyone getting close to reporting on the contacts between the Trump campaign and Russian intelligence. And raising the question whether the Trump campaign was not just a beneficiary of Russian intelligence but whether there was collusion between the Trump campaign. We don't know that there was. But that is what sets them off," Frum tells Tremonti.
Listen to the full segment at the top of this web post.
This segment was produced by The Current's Samira Mohyeddin and Idella Sturino.