By Ryan Gajarawala ’18, Staff Writer

Ever since the conception of America, there has been a certain set of ideals that have spread through society. In the First Amendment, Americans were given the rights to freedom of the press and “to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” These basic tenets of the First Amendment have provided the groundwork for a changing society. However, in today’s modern society, Donald Trump’s values are threatening these First Amendment ideals and attacking the core foundation of  the United States of America.

From the first few months of his presidential campaign up until these first  weeks after his inauguration, Trump’s relationship with the media has been considered unhealthy due to his vile disposition toward all aspects of American press. American media has four purposes: to express, educate, persuade and entertain. Throughout the Donald Trump campaign, many news outlets reported on the different aspects of his race to the presidency, focusing on the outrageous comments and promises he made, such as building a wall to keep immigrants out and placing a ban on Muslims. However, Trump has had a different opinion on the activities of the media throughout his campaign. During a campaign speech in Miami, Trump noted, “These people are among the most dishonest people I’ve ever met, spoken to, done business with. These are the most dishonest people. There has never been dishonesty, there has never been dishonesty like we’ve seen in this election.” His direct attack on the proceedings of the free press displays his unstable nature and inability to maintain a strong relationship with the media.

As we moved closer toward his inauguration and into the first few weeks of his presidency, Trump’s relationship with the media became detrimental to the integrity of this nation. He continued to develop extensive distrust with the propagation of the “fake news” belief. With a sudden surge of fake news from Facebook and other media outlets, Trump accused a qualified and well-known media outlet, the Cable News Network, of providing “fake news” to the American people. When CNN reporter Jim Acosta attempted to exercise his right to freedom of the press by asking President Trump a question during his first and only press conference since the election, Trump responded with, “Don’t be rude. No, I’m not going to give you a question. You are fake news.” This accusation against a certified news organization displays Trump’s inability to respect basic rights and the integrity of our democratic nation. Vicki Li ‘18  “feels like Trump needs to express his opinions without constantly berating the opposing side,” which in this case is the media organizations. Li ‘18 goes on to explain, “Whenever someone disagrees with him, he insults them, or in terms of news, accuses it of being fake. He can’t take criticism, and if he were just more open-minded, I think his portrayal in media would improve greatly.”

Trump has continuously used social media to expound his policy and personal beliefs, which has landed him in some trouble. Throughout his campaign and even into the presidency, Trump has used Twitter, a social media platform to communicate his beliefs. Twitter is a great platform for Trump to express his thoughts and opinions, but his use of it can be considered flawed, due to the media’s portrayal of the messages he sends across. Charles Pan ‘18 suggests, “I think the reason that many people disapprove of the use of [tweets] is because [Trump] posts highly opinionated tweets and is quick to antagonize people, something that people have almost never seen from someone holding a political office.” While Trump should definitely continue to use Twitter to provide his thoughts and beliefs on the immediate events of American society due to its beneficial nature for the American people, he should censor his antagonism, such as his attack on the department store, Nordstrom for dropping his daughter Ivanka’s fashion line. By slightly censoring his antagonism, the media might portray Trump as more level-headed, world leaders might develop different opinions of Trump, and the people will respect him as our President.

Throughout his presidency, Trump has developed many “fake news” scandals surrounding himself, caused internal harm to the nation, and harmed his relationship with the press through  Sean Spicer, the White House Press Secretary. Trump has even suggested that the media organizations have poorly reported on many terror attacks in the world, having the White House provide a list of 78 terror attacks that were considered to be  “poorly reported.” In a speech to members of the military, Trump declared “”You’ve seen what happened in Paris and Nice. All over Europe it’s happening. It’s gotten to a point where it’s not even being reported. And in many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesn’t want to report it. They have their reasons and you understand that.” This belief that the media chooses which terror attack to cover is preposterous and absurd; it challenges the integrity of the media whose purpose is to provide the American people with the truth. In fact, after a fact-check with media coverage, it was determined that most, if not all, of the 78 terror attacks suggested as “poorly reported” were in fact, very well reported and detailed to the American public.

While many Americans accuse President Trump of being unfit for the Presidency due to his public actions, others see it as a problem from the media itself. Many believe that the media is responsible for portraying President Trump in a negative light, and responsible for the negative perspectives that many Americans exhibit today. Students like Young Se Choi ‘18 believe that, “You constantly see the media taking sides against presidents, in this case Trump. Then, we constantly see news articles written about how Trump hates Mexicans but in reality all he ever said was that we should get rid of illegal immigrants, the vast majority of them coming from Mexico.” The media has fabricated a myth about the President that only explores his failures and weaknesses, rather than considering and analyzing both his strengths and weaknesses. They have chosen specific events and actions of the administration on which to fixate their attention and solely report those topics. Charles Pan ‘18 suggests that the controversy and debate about Donald Trump is “just perception.” He believes that “the media is partly to blame, in addition to President Trump, for the hostile relationship between Trump and themselves.” However, Pan ‘18 suggests that “whether or not Trump should act hostile back toward the media is a different question altogether.”

Trump’s relationship with the media is ultimately quite concerning because it is the interactions between them that cause reporters to portray him in such a negative light. The blame lies within both the media and the Donald Trump administration; Trump continues to execute outrageous and unnecessary actions, such as the ban on immigration from seven Muslim majority countries for 90 days, but the media also portrays his persona through exaggeration. Trump must develop trust among the free press and stop calling journalists “among the most dishonest human beings on earth.” In order to foster a better relationship, the media must fulfill their duty of expressing, educating, persuading and entertaining for the benefit of the American populous. We have at least four more years of President Donald Trump; let us all hope that his relationship with the media improves and our country moves forward in a positive direction of success and glory.