By Laura Townsend
President Trump stirred up the Twitter-sphere Sunday morning with his latest controversial tweet, a video that shows Trump body-slamming, punching, and choking a figure with the CNN logo superimposed on his head. The president is vacationing at his Bedminster golf resort, where it appears he is spending his time between swings throwing Twitter tantrums. The video is the 15th Twitter attack on the media by Trump this week.
By now, it might come as little surprise when the president’s tweets make international headlines for all the wrong reasons. His Twitter account reads like the private diary of a pathetically bitter 13-year-old bully. Of course, one would expect the president of the United States to have more self-control, and dignity, than a 13-year-old.
More dangerous, too, than a bitter teenager, is the president of the “free world” publicly and violently attacking the media. This video is shockingly violent. It should serve as a warning for what is to come in Trump’s ever-escalating war on the media. The video indicates that he is not only capable of pulverizing the media, he is happy to throw the punch and brag about the destruction. He is literally attacking the freedom of the press.
In response to the unsettling video, CNN remarked that, “it is a sad day when the president of the United States encourages violence against reporters.” How can those working for a news network, especially one as openly despised by Trump as CNN, possibly feel safe after something like this?
The video encourages violence against more than the media. It encourages violence against all that Trump disparages. It screams that violence is the answer and Trump will win the fight.
Perhaps more terrifying is how Trump’s avid supporters might respond to the video. Violent attacks might very well increase in numbers as viewers are taught that acting violently is an appropriate response to disagreement. In the months since the election, there have been reports of bullying and hate crimes nationwide committed in the name of Trump. To assume that this video will not lead to violence from citizens is naïve.
I have been baffled by responses to this video that call it immature and laughable. Do not be fooled: This is not nonsense spewed from the mouth of a crybaby. It is an encouragement of violence against the media by the president of the United States. It should be seen as a threat. Homeland Security adviser Tom Bossert’s dismissal of the video as showing the “genuine” attitude of the president and claim that “no one would perceive that as a threat” should be as unsettling as the video itself. When those who are running our country attempt to desensitize violence, people should be on guard.
If this video proves anything, it is that Trump is not afraid to rule with an iron fist. The immature reputation of the president’s Twitter account is a mere disguise for what is happening on the other side of that keyboard. We must not let that reputation keep us from seeing this video for what it is: a real threat against the media.
