President-elect Donald Trump is stepping up his long-running war with the media by demanding Republicans nix a reporter shield law working its way through Congress.
“REPUBLICANS MUST KILL THIS BILL!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The bill in question is the Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying Act, which would guarantee protections against government seizure of reporters’ records. It unanimously passed in the House earlier this year but may now be imperiled in the Senate with just weeks to go before this session of Congress ends.
Trump attached a clip to his social media post, in which Committee to Protect Journalists CEO Jodie Ginsberg mentions legal threats Trump made against CBS News and the New York Times.
“It’s really urgent that we pass this law,” Ginsberg said.
Her group had already issued a statement the morning after the election, criticizing Trump for “wanton attacks on journalists” and warning that his second administration could be a turning point for media freedom in the United States.
Whether wanton or not, Trump has famously feuded with the press since his political career began eight years ago. He’s dubbed the media “fake news” and “the enemy of the people” while leading chants against reporters during his many political rallies.
However, Trump arguably raised the temperature higher than ever this year.
He made a dark joke earlier this month that a possible assassin would have to “shoot through the fake news” to get to him.
“I don’t mind that so much. I don’t mind that,” Trump said while some of the crowd cheered.
In September, he threatened to revoke ABC’s broadcast license after his debate on the network against Vice President Kamala Harris. The Federal Communications Commission responded that it does not revoke licenses simply because a political candidate disagrees with its coverage.
In late October, Trump brought a multibillion-dollar lawsuit against CBS News for what he called “deceitful, deceptive manipulation” of an interview with Harris that aired on 60 Minutes.
Trump’s latest salvo came on the same day the New York Times reported on leaked documents that traced payments from former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who Trump was trying to install as attorney general, to two women who said he hired them for sex.
“This purposeful leaking of classified investigative materials is the sort of politicized D.O.J. weaponization that Matt Gaetz will end,” Trump spokesman Steven Cheung told the outlet. “The Justice Department investigated Gaetz for years, failed to find a crime and are now leaking material with false information to smear the next attorney general.”
The outlet said the documents were not marked as classified. The next day, Gaetz withdrew the attorney general nomination.
While press advocacy organizations regularly denounce Trump’s actions, President Joe Biden also has an icy relationship with the media.
Biden recently returned from a six-day trip to South America, during which he refused to speak to the traveling press. He has also mimicked media members trying to ask him questions and once told a reporter, “You guys are all the same,” when asked about his approval rating.
Trump engaged much more frequently with the media on the 2024 campaign trail than Harris.
That doesn’t mean media members are eager to see him back in the White House.
The PRESS Act passed the House without opposition in January and was co-sponsored by Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA). It even drew an endorsement from conservative commentator Tucker Carlson in July.
Now, Kiley said he has more work to do to see his bill become law.
“Based on the feedback we’ve received from Senators and President Trump, it’s clear we have work to do to achieve consensus on this issue,” Kiley said. “I’m looking forward to working with the new administration on a great many areas of common ground as we begin a new era of American prosperity.”
While the bill has been stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee for months, advocates say it is bipartisan and will help protect journalists from overreach by presidents of both major political parties.
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“The PRESS Act enjoys near-unanimous bipartisan support because it strengthens the First Amendment and protects all types of journalists from government surveillance, including reporters for traditionally conservative outlets,” said Clayton Weimers, executive director of Reporters Without Borders.
“Both Democratic and Republican administrations have abused their powers to spy on journalists and try to kill public interest reporting,” Weimers added. “Regardless of your politics, we should agree that we need more independent journalism free from government intrusion.”