To date, one of the most unnerving elements of the Donald Trump administration has been its all-out war on the press. Trump, either through himself or his minions, had told the press to sit down and shut up, warned it against calling out Trump’s blatant lies, called for anyone who criticized Trump during the campaign to be fired, and has declared the press to be “the enemy of the American people.”
To those of us in the reality-based world, this is incredibly unhinged. But a new poll from the Pew Research Center suggests Trump may be crazy like a fox. Less than half of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents believe a critical press is an essential element of a democracy.
Look at the results here.
76% of Dems, 49% of Repubs say freedom of press to criticize political leaders is very important to democracy https://t.co/kSLZOANJt3 pic.twitter.com/rZCVzJUwOR
— Pew Research Center (@pewresearch) March 3, 2017
Notice the yuuuuge partisan gap on how important the press’ right to criticize our leaders. While only 49 percent of Republicans believe in the importance of a critical press, 76 percent of Democrats believe in the importance of a critical press. It cannot be stated enough–51 percent of Republicans wouldn’t shed a tear if the First Amendment were gutted.
This anecdote should send a chill down any fair-minded American’s spine. What does it mean when a majority of the supporters of a major party don’t think a critical press is essential to a democracy? It can’t be good. It does, however, explain why Trump thought he could get away with vowing to use the libel laws to bludgeon his critics into silence, as well as his full-on war with the press since taking office. And it may also explain why actor, talk show host, and hard-core conservative Robert Davi called for a revival of Roman-era laws that would criminalize libel–with nary a word of criticism.
On the surface, it sounds like Trump was simply tapping into a sentiment that had been bubbling up for some time in the GOP base. But you also have to wonder–how much of this figure comes from religious right leaders railing that any criticism of Trump is rooted in witchcraft and demonic activity, and runs counter to God’s plan for this country? This poll is proof positive of why this sort talk should be called out for the unhinged bilge that it is. It is also proof of why the likes of Jim Bakker, James Dobson, Paula White, Franklin Graham, Pat Robertson, Rick Joyner, and Lance Wallnau must go down–and go down hard–when Trump is either forced to resign, impeached, or defeated for reelection.
There’s a substantial partisan gap on three other questions about what elements are critical to democracy. Only 66 percent of Republicans believe people with unpopular views should be protected, compared to 88 percent of Democrats. Only 68 percent of Republicans believe in the right to peaceful protest, compared to 88 percent of Democrats.
Frankly, this is very unnerving. Fortunately, I know a good number of Republicans who are part of the 49 percent that believe in the importance of a critical press. If any of those Republicans are reading this, take this poll as a sign that you have a major clean-up job to do on your side of the aisle. When a majority of the members of a major party effectively say they don’t believe in the First Amendment, that’s not good for democracy in the long run.
(featured image courtesy Robin Klein, available under a Creative Commons BY-SA license)
