The president of the United States is going to great lengths to undermine the credibility of American institutions that are not subject to his personal beck and call.
This is a serious threat to the future of our democracy, affecting people of all parties and political ideologies.
The president attacks the institution of the free press as “the fake, fake disgusting news.” He takes obvious joy in lathering up people who attend his campaign-style rallies to boo, shout at and threaten the reporters covering the event. Clearly, this is all designed to lay the groundwork for his followers to ignore, belittle or distrust news reports covering everything from the separation of children from their parents at the border to the special counsel’s investigation of the presidential campaign’s alleged collusion with the Russian government.