President Donald Trump spoke at the Department of Justice on Friday and ignited an immediate firestorm of controversy with his remarks about the media, claiming that critical coverage of him should be “illegal.”
“And I believe that CNN and MSDNC [sic], who literally write 97 .6 percent bad about me, are political arms of the Democrat Party. And in my opinion, they’re really corrupt and they’re illegal. What they do is illegal. It makes no difference how big a victory I had. I can have the biggest victory in history,” Trump said at one point during his wild remarks.
Trump also said, “And The New York Times will write whatever these people say. The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and MSDNC [sic], and fake news CNN, and ABC, CBS, and NBC. And they’ll write whatever they say.” He added:
And what do you do to get rid of it? You convict Trump. All you have to do is be really tough on him and ultimately, convict him and they leave you alone. It’s totally illegal what they do. I just hope you can all watch for it, but it’s totally illegal.
During the speech, which was supposed to be about fentanyl, Trump also targeted his courtroom opponents, calling prosecutor who charged him in the past “scum” and threatening them with jail. “These are people that are bad people, really bad people. The people who did this to us should go to jail,” Trump added.
Condemnation of Trump’s remarks was swift as critics likened the president’s remarks to those of an authoritarian dictator. “Calling news outlets that hold the president accountable “illegal” is what dictators say to attack the free press and suppress freedom of speech. Trump’s remarks at the DOJ aren’t just partisan—they’re a direct attack on democracy. We can’t let him turn the DOJ into his personal weapon,” wrote Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA).
“This is what a dictator sounds like,” replied Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-RI).
Comedian Jason Silving reacted, “But seriously this is authoritarianism.”
Below are some additional reactions:
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