Trump labels ‘fake news media’ the ‘opposition party’ as newspapers denounce his rhetoric

President Trump on Thursday lashed out at the press, deriding it as the “opposition party” and “very bad” for the country, as scores of newspapers published editorials denouncing the president’s attacks on journalists.

“THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA IS THE OPPOSITION PARTY,” he tweeted. “It is very bad for our Great Country….BUT WE ARE WINNING!”

THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA IS THE OPPOSITION PARTY. It is very bad for our Great Country….BUT WE ARE WINNING!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 16, 2018

Trump’s use of the term “opposition party” echoes a label for the media frequently deployed by his former chief strategist, Stephen Bannon.

The president’s latest jab at the press comes on the same day that hundreds of newspapers joined together in a coordinated effort to call on Trump to reconsider his rhetoric toward the media, particularly his use of the term “enemy of the people.”

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“To label the press ‘the enemy of the people’ is as un-American as it is dangerous to the civic compact we have shared for more than two centuries,” The Boston Globe wrote in its editorial.

More than 300 news organizations have pledged to join the effort, The Associated Press reported, which originated earlier this month with a Boston Globe editor.

The New York Times, a common target for Trump’s insults of the press, wrote in its editorial that while it’s fair to critique the news media for its coverage, attacking reporters is dangerous.

“Insisting that truths you don’t like are ‘fake news’ is dangerous to the lifeblood of democracy. And calling journalists the ‘enemy of the people’ is dangerous, period,” its editorial board wrote.

The AP reported that some newspapers — including a columnist for The Wall Street Journal and The Baltimore Sun — published pieces that expressed skepticism about the coordinated effort. The Sun wrote that Trump’s attacks are wrong, but suggested the campaign gives the impression the mainstream media is pitted against the president.

Trump, who has had a testy relationship with the media since declaring his candidacy, often seeks to discredit negative coverage as “fake news.” 

He has suggested pulling credentials from reporters, encouraged rally crowds to jeer at media and, recently taken to labeling journalists the “enemy of the people.” Trump has continued to use the latter attack even after a gunman killed five people at a Maryland newspaper office.

The White House drew criticism from numerous media outlets last month when it banned CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins from covering an open press event because she shouted questions about Trump’s relationship with his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, at an earlier availability.

Trump has ratcheted up his attacks on the press in recent weeks, declaring on Twitter that the media is “unpatriotic,” and “can also cause war.”

Despite all that, the White House has on multiple occasions asserted the administration is committed to a “free press.”