Donald Trump may be 'losing it' but the alternative could be even worse, former US labour secretary says
Robert Reich warns sustained attacks on the media could be leading the US down a 'slippery path'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A former US labour secretary has warned Donald Trump’s attacks on the media could be leading America down a “slippery path” to censorship.
Robert Reich, who served under Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1997, said the US President’s “increasingly incendiary tweets” aimed at the media “constitute an overt assault on the freedom of the press.”
The long time critic of the US leader warned that while claims Mr Trump could be mentally unwell may still prove to be true, he feared “an even more menacing reality”.
“His new attacks seem to be going a step farther, mobilising his supporters against media personalities and executives that are critical of him,” Mr Reich wrote in an op-ed for Alternet.
His comments come days after Mr Trump shared a piece of edited wrestling footage that showed him flooring a figure whose head had been replaced by a CNN logo.
Mr Reich wrote: “Will news organisations be intimidated? Probably not, at least not at this point. But we may be on a slippery path. Trump’s increasingly incendiary tweets and messages constitute an overt assault on freedom of the press, the cornerstone of our democracy.”
Mr Trump was heavily criticised after sharing the CNN wrestling clip, with media pundits accusing him of inciting violence.
Mr Reich said the president's narrative was increasingly aligning with the kind of content shared on right-wing websites.
“As the tweets and rallies become shriller and more provocative, their clear message is that Trump’s critics are bad people who are conspiring to undo his presidency – people whom Trump supporters must “not let” silence him, who deserve to be slammed the way Trump took it out on CNN in the mock video he posted Sunday morning,” he wrote.
“It’s a narrative that’s showing up increasingly on right-wing websites.”
It comes after a new poll found Americans continue to trust the media more than Mr Trump.
Asked whether they trusted the President or CNN more, SurveyMonkey respondents chose the news network over the US leader by a margin of 7 per cent.
Forty-three per cent said Mr Trump is more trustworthy, compared to 50 per cent who said they trust CNN. Seven per cent were unsure.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments