As Reporters Fear For Safety At Rallies, Trump Officially Labeled “Threat To Press Freedom”

Journalists In GOP Nominee’s Traveling Pool Have Begun Concealing, Removing Credentials

In an unprecedented move, the Committee to Project Journalists has officially labeled GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump “a threat to press freedom.” 

CPJ, a nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide, issued a statement this week saying its board approved a resolution Oct. 6 “declaring Trump an unprecedented threat to the rights of journalists and to CPJ’s ability to advocate for press freedom around the world.” 

The statement notes that Trump has routinely labeled the press “dishonest” and “scum,” and singled out individual journalists and news organizations. He’s mocked a disabled New York Times reporter (photo), refused to condemn attacks on journalists by his supporters, denied credentials to outlets that have covered him critically, and vowed to “open up” libel laws to make it easier to sue them. 

“Through his words and actions, Trump has consistently demonstrated a contempt for the role of the press beyond offering publicity to him and advancing his interests,” CPJ board chair Sandra Mims Rowe said in the statement. “For this reason CPJ is taking the unprecedented step of speaking out now. This is not about picking sides in an election. This is recognizing that a Trump presidency represents a threat to press freedom unknown in modern history.”

In related news, The Washington Post notes that reporters in Trump’s traveling press contingent increasingly fear for their safety at his rallies. They’ve even started removing or concealing their credentials when leaving the media pen. 

Trump’s attacks on the media in stump speeches have escalated in recent days, in the wake of allegations that he sexually assaulted numerous women. Trump claims “corrupt” media outlets that have reported on the allegations are part of “a global conspiracy” to defeat him. 

Ben Schreckinger, a reporter for Politico who was once kicked out of a Trump rally, said such incendiary statements are being absorbed by the GOP nominee’s supporters. 

“It seems to have made the crowds more aggressive and angry,” Schreckinger told WaPo. “In the past, when Trump incited the crowd against the press, you could see people smiling and laughing as they were booing. It was like the mood of a crowd at a ballpark. Now the smiles have disappeared.”

I’d hate to be a reporter at a Trump watch party when he loses on Election Night.