US Senate Adopts Resolution Backing Free Press After Trump Attacks

US Senate Adopts Resolution Backing Free Press After Trump Attacks

August 16, 2018, 5:08 PM

US Senate Adopts Resolution Backing Free Press After Trump Attacks

FILE - The U.S. Capitol building is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Jan. 19, 2017.
FILE – The U.S. Capitol building is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Jan. 19, 2017.

The U.S. Senate on Thursday unanimously adopted a resolution affirming support for a free press and declaring that "the press is not the enemy of the people."

The nonbinding resolution approved by voice vote was a rebuke to President Donald Trump who for more than 18 months has frequently called reporters "the enemy of the people."

The resolution "reaffirms the vital and indispensable role that the free press serves to inform the electorate, uncover the truth, act as a check on the inherent power of the government, further national discourse and debate, and otherwise advance the most basic and cherished democratic norms and freedoms of the United States."

An editorial titled "A Free Press Needs You" is published in The New York Times, Aug. 16, 2018, in New York. Newspapers from Maine to Hawaii pushed back against President Donald Trump's attacks on "fake news" Thursday with a coordinated series of editorials speaking up for a free and vigorous press.
An editorial titled "A Free Press Needs You" is published in The New York Times, Aug. 16, 2018, in New York. Newspapers from Maine to Hawaii pushed back against President Donald Trump's attacks on "fake news" Thursday with a coordinated series of editorials speaking up for a free and vigorous press.

The vote comes after more than 350 U.S. newspapers on Thursday launched a coordinated defense of press freedom and a rebuke of President Donald Trump for denouncing some media organizations as enemies of the American people.

"A central pillar of President Trump's politics is a sustained assault on the free press," said the editorial by the Boston Globe, which coordinated publication among more than 350 newspapers.

Trump has frequently criticized journalists and described news reports that contradict his opinion or policy positions as fake news.

He lashed out again Thursday, tweeting "THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA IS THE OPPOSITION PARTY. It is very bad for our Great Country….BUT WE ARE WINNING!"

At a Senate hearing, Federal Communications Commission chairman Ajit Pai again said he did not agree that the press was "the enemy of the people" but declined to offer a view of Trump's anti-press rhetoric.

"We swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution, including the First Amendment," said Senator Brian Schatz, a Democrat and an author of the resolution. "Today, every senator upheld that oath by sending a message that we support the First Amendment, and we support the freedom of the press in the face of these attacks."

The White House did not immediately comment on the Senate action.

Original Article

PRESIDENT TRUMP PARTICIPATES IN HURRICANE RELIEF BENEFIT WITH TUCKER CARLSON

CATCH THE LATEST STEVE GRUBER SHOW

CATCH THE AMERICAN SUNRISE SHOW M-F AT 8AM ET.

THE RETURN OF STEPHEN K. BANNON!

PRESIDENT TRUMP HOLDS MAGA RALLY IN ROCKY MOUNT, NC

PRESIDENT TRUMP HOLDS MAGA RALLY IN GREEN BAY, WI

WATCH THE LATEST COWBOY LOGIC BARN PARTY SHOW

CATCH THE LATEST AMERICA'S VOICE LIVE SHOW

PRESIDENT TRUMP'S RETURN TO BUTLER, PA

WATCH ON UMBLE WATCH ON GETTR

RAV TOWN HALL WITH ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR.

JOIN US IN LIVE CHAT 24/7 ON RUMBLE

JOIN US ON OUR 24/7 LIVE RUMBLE STREAM