A new message from your friends at People For the American Way.
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Friend,

Welcome to our weekly “Trumptastrophe” email series that serves to remind
us of the destructive policies, decisions, and actions we encountered
during the Trump presidency and the threats that he and others in the MAGA
movement still pose – and to keep those moments clear in our memory as we
fight to defeat Republican extremists during the upcoming elections.

This week’s Trumptastrophe focuses on former President Trump’s history of
attacking the media for coverage that isn’t friendly towards him or his
MAGA agenda – and his desire to weaponize federal agencies in order to
undermine journalistic freedom and First Amendment protections for media
outlets that report truthfully regarding his actions:

On August 18,  2018, newspapers across the country [ [link removed] ]wrote editorials
defending the freedom of the press, a response to ongoing attacks by Trump
on the “fake news” – especially his characterization of the media as “the
enemy of the people.”

The Des Moines Register offered this blunt message: “The true enemies of
the people—and democracy—are those who try to suffocate truth by vilifying
and demonizing the messenger.”

Trump’s attacks on the media continued throughout his presidency and
beyond. He has regularly demonized journalists and encouraged people at
his rallies to jeer at reporters covering his events. Last year he accused
major media outlets of engaging in “[ [link removed] ]treason.” Polling has suggested
that attacks by Trump and right-wing activists and media outlets have
encouraged more negative attitudes toward the news media among
Republicans.

Even more troubling have been suggestions from Trump and his aides that if
he returns to the White House, he will use and abuse his power to punish
media outlets whose coverage he doesn’t like.

As CNN analyst Oliver Darcy [ [link removed] ]noted last December, Trump has explicitly
threatened to target news organizations:

“I say up front, openly, and proudly, that when I WIN the Presidency of
the United States, they and others of the LameStream Media will be
thoroughly scrutinized for their knowingly dishonest and corrupt
coverage of people, things, and events,” Trump declared in September,
adding that he believes the press “should pay a big price” for
supposedly hurting the country.

More from Darcy:

The four-time indicted, twice-impeached disgraced former president,
Donald Trump, who [ [link removed] ]admitted Tuesday that he will govern as a
“dictator” on “day one” should he win office again, is overtly vowing to
weaponize government and seek retribution against the news media,
showing no regard for the First Amendment protections afforded to the
Fourth Estate.

The alarming rhetoric against the nation’s journalists, whom Trump has
consistently and insidiously referred to as the “enemy of the people,”
has also been echoed by his top allies, indicating the promises of
revenge are not the rantings of a madman, but the actual intended course
of action should the Republican presidential frontrunner manage to seize
power again.

In a particularly disturbing conversation this week, Trump’s former top
political strategist, Steve Bannon, and former National Security Council
adviser, Kash Patel, [ [link removed] ]openly discussed plans to target the press.
Bannon, who underscored that such promises are “not just rhetoric” and
that they are “absolutely dead serious” about seeking revenge against
journalists, asked Patel, who would likely serve in a second Trump
administration, whether he could “deliver the goods.” Patel responded
affirmatively, vowing that a re-empowered Trump would indeed “come
after” the press.

Advocates for a free press called out threats from the MAGA insiders:

“This kind of inflammatory rhetoric has no place in U.S. democracy,”
Katherine Jacobsen, who heads U.S. affairs for the Committee to Protect
Journalists, told me. “Thuggish threats to ‘come after’ members of the
media in retaliation for their work covering elections is incredibly
concerning, and creates a permission structure for violence against
journalists.”

Trump’s threats against the media are part of [ [link removed] ]a broader pattern of
threatening to use government power to target his personal and political
enemies, as [ [link removed] ]documented by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in
Washington this year.

Harassing and intimidating the free press in order to control its coverage
is a repressive tactic used by authoritarians throughout the years and
across the globe. Hungary’s strongman Prime Minister Viktor Orban is
described by Reporters Without Borders as “[ [link removed] ]a predator of press freedom”
who has systematically undermined media pluralism and independence. In
spite of that, or because of that, Orban is greatly [ [link removed] ]admired and
[ [link removed] ]praised by MAGA leaders. The Heritage Foundation’s [ [link removed] ]Kevin Roberts
has cited Orban’s Hungary as “the model for conservative statecraft.”

Trump’s threats—and MAGA leaders’ admiration for anti-freedom
authoritarians—highlight the threat of [ [link removed] ]Project 2025—the plan by the
Heritage Foundation and its allies to “take the reins of government” under
a new Trump administration. The plan would use executive orders and a
right-wing legal theory to give the president virtually unlimited power to
impose his will on the executive branch and use government power to target
his opponents.  That includes the [ [link removed] ]Federal Communications Commission,
which he could use to intimidate media and social media companies to
prevent them for example, from trying to stop the spread of election
related misinformation. Project 2025 also calls for [ [link removed] ]eliminating the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Project 2025 was mostly written by former Trump aides, including Russ
Vought, who was also in charge of the RNC Platform dictated by the Trump
campaign, and who was recently [ [link removed] ]caught on camera talking about how
supportive Trump is of his efforts.

As Right Wing Watch [ [link removed] ]noted this week, Trump’s efforts to distance
himself from Project 2025’s unpopular agenda and authoritarian plans are
dishonest and literally unbelievable. He praised Heritage when it was
starting up the project, saying “they’re going to lay the groundwork and
detail plans for exactly what our movement will do and what your movement
will do when the American people give us a colossal mandate to save
America.”

We’ve been warned.

These are just some of the reasons we need YOU in this
fight. So, find your
favorite way to unwind after reading through this week’s recap, and then
make a plan for how you will fight back this week, this month, this
election cycle.

For members who are interested in sharing the weekly Trumptastrophe
series, [ [link removed] ]you can find all previous editions on our website! This post
will be published by Thursday so you can share with your friends and
family and remind them of the importance of ensuring that Trump is
defeated again this November.

[ [link removed] ]If you’d like to opt-out of this series but still continue receiving
our other email content, you can do so here >>

Thanks for all that you do to defeat Republican extremism.

– People For the American Way

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