26 THE QUEENS COURIER • AUGUST 16, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
editorial
Hey Trump: We are not the enemy!
Th ere’s nothing fake about the
real threat that Donald Trump
poses to the freedom of the press
in this country.
President Trump took an oath to
“preserve, protect and defend the
Constitution of the United States.”
Th at same Constitution includes
an amendment protecting the people’s
ability to petition government,
to speak freely for or against
it, to worship without fear of persecution,
and to report and publish
on the events of the day.
Yet Trump, on an almost daily
basis, attacks the Constitution and
our rights, as John Adams once
said, “to read, to think, to speak
and to write” as people in
a free society. He sees the
press as threats to his power
— even though the press is
just doing its job reporting
fi rst sitting president to actively
chip away at our collective credibility.
Trump can’t handle the truth,
so he whips out that garbage “fake
news” line every chance he can.
When Trump says the news is fake,
what he’s
r e a l l y
THE QUEENS
on what’s happening in
government.
He’s not the fi rst politician
to openly dislike the
press — God knows we’ve
seen plenty of those in
New York City through
the years — but he’s the
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PRESIDENT & CEO
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VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS
BOB BRENNAN
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AMY AMATO-SANCHEZ
NIRMAL SINGH
EMILY DAVENPORT
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CLIFF KASDEN, SAMANTHA SOHMER, ELIZABETH ALONI
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VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS
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doing is seeking to create an alternate
reality to the one in which we
all live.
It’s the same tactic used by
strongmen throughout the ages
— Mussolini, Castro, Saddam,
Chavez, Duterte, Erdogan, Putin,
just to name a few — to
squash opposition
and achieve absolute power.
And whenever he uses that “fake
news” term, he’s attacking all of us
in the press — including community
newspapers.
Every day, we work hard to
report the truth to our readers
about what’s happening in their
neighborhoods. Along the way,
we have to clear through a torrent
of bureaucratic hurdles to get the
facts on everything from potholes
to prison reform, homeless shelters
to aff ordable housing, and so
many other issues.
Readers call or email us every
week with tips on news items,
and oft en, they come to us having
already reported their problems to
the city or state governments —
but without having received any
response or solution to their concerns.
Who will bring attention to the
problems we experience every day
if the press isn’t there to report
it? Who will hold government
accountable for inaction, corruption
and poor decisions if the press
isn’t there to shed light them?
Do you honestly believe that a
state-run media would ever let
you know the truth about anything?
Today, Aug. 16, we proudly stand
with the more than 200 news organizations
nationwide participating
in an editorial campaign led by
Th e Boston Globe, designed to
deliver a message to Trump,
to our readers and to the
American people:
“We are not the enemy
of the people.”
Trump wants you to
believe otherwise because
it advances his agenda,
rooted in totalitarianism.
It can happen here
in the United States, but
only if we allow Trump to
get away with it. Merely
dismissing or ignoring
his comments isn’t good
enough — they must be denied
and condemned by all of us as
Americans, regardless of party or
political belief.
Because Twitter seems to be one
of the few things to which this
president pays attention, we want
our readers to tweet at the president,
@realDonaldTrump, the following:
“Stop attacking the press and
stop dividing our country. We
know the press is not our enemy,
and nothing you can say or do will
ever change that.”
If you aren’t on Twitter, or would
simply prefer to send that message
in writing, send it electronically
by visiting https://www.whitehouse.
gov/contact, or mail it to
the President, 1600 Pennsylvania
Ave., Washington, D.C., 20500.
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