Over the last week, the world’s media has been fixated on the placement of tariffs by the US Government on goods originating from its North American neighbours, Canada and Mexico – subsequently halted for a month – and its arch-rival on the world trade stage, China. Trump’s official rationale for the imposition of these tariffs: the failure to stop fentanyl smuggling into the United States. While everyone focuses on this development, the Trump machinery is at work somewhere else.
Whilst on the campaign trail, on Tuesday, 5th December, 2023, before a live audience in Davenport, Iowa, current US President Donald Trump, responded to a probe from his longtime friend, Fox News host, Sean Hannity, that he wouldn’t abuse power or seek retribution if elected for a second term, by saying, “Except for day one. I want to close the border, and I want to drill, drill, drill.” And just in case anyone missed it, Trump reenacted the exchange, “We love this guy [Hannity],” Trump said. “He says, ‘You’re not going to be a dictator, are you?’ I said: ‘No, no, no, other than day one. We’re closing the border, and we’re drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I’m not a dictator.’”
Well, it appears, less than one month after being sworn in as the 47th President of the United States of America, Trump has either, broken his campaign assurance – politicians do it all the time, it’s standard operating procedure – or, he has simply had a change of heart. The one common aspect of all authoritarian governments is their zero tolerance of criticism or any form of challenge in the media, which, as far as they are concerned, exists solely to promote their government and its ideas. Under Trump, the wheels have been set in motion for this. In a society built on the back of freedom of expression, overcoming the initial inertia will take a bit of effort, but once initialised, this process will only accelerate.
On Long Island, New York, where 40 percent of the state’s population live, the daily newspaper of record is the New York Newsday. In operation since 1940, its the seventh largest newspaper in the USA, with a 200,000 daily circulation (260,000 on Sunday), and is known for its in-depth local reporting and comprehensive coverage, Newsday has won multiple Pulitzer Prizes for its journalism excellence. The newspaper plays an important role in keeping the Long Island community informed about local, national, and international events. Last week, the head of the Nassau County Government, a Trump Republican, moved the publication of all public notices (a considerable source of income for any newspaper) from Newsday to the New York Post, a right wing publication, which is not based in Long Island. This act of eliminating potential revenue from media outlets which oppose the government’s line is nothing new, in fact, this very publication has experienced this subterfuge. Its an ominous sign of things to come.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government which regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the USA. It maintains jurisdiction over the areas of broadband access, fair competition, radio frequency use, media responsibility, public safety, and homeland security. Its independence appears to have been compromised, as Trump to all intents and purposes, looks set to use its offices to stifle his opponents both real and perceived. Last week, Brendan Carr, the new FCC Head, a Trump appointee, declared that the (supposedly independent) federal agency was starting an investigation of the underwriting – the source of funds (donors) – of National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). These media houses do not accept advertisements and are often funded by local businesses and organisations, and private individuals from the community in which they serve. The Trump Administration is claiming that this funding is illegal. This is Trump’s latest tack of trying to cripple the extremely high standard of independent journalism presented by these two sources.
Last week the FCC solicited from CBS News the unedited transcript of a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris, which became the subject of a $10 billion lawsuit brought against the network by Trump, who accused the network of deceptively editing the interview with Ms. Harris in a manner that benefited her candidacy. The New York Times reported that last Wednesday evening the network’s news division received a letter of inquiry requesting “the full, unedited transcript and camera feeds” from the interview with Ms. Harris, which aired last October.
Anna Gomez, a Democratic commissioner at the agency, criticized the request in a statement. “Let’s be clear…This is a retaliatory move by the government against broadcasters whose content or coverage is perceived to be unfavorable. It is designed to instill fear in broadcast stations and influence a network’s editorial decisions.”
These surreptitious moves to smother the media were successfully applied in Hungary by Victor Orban, the Prime Minister of Hungary since 2010, and a special guest of Trump at Mar-a-Largo, in June of last year. The Victor Orban Playbook utilises the power of government to eliminate individual professional journalism. The autocrat used batteries of lawyers rather than generals and the army to weaken and eventually ruin independent journalism.
What can American citizens expect next? The restructuring of libel and defamation laws, followed by a slew of lawsuits aimed at crippling news media outlets. The descent into authoritarian rule under President Donald J. Trump has begun.
