The anti-press rhetoric of the Republican candidate for the White House, Donald Trump, is daily harming journalists covering the election campaign, through threats, obstruction and even attempted attacks by his supporters.
Last week, at a campaign event for J.D. Vance - Trump's electoral running mate - in the city of Reading, in the state of Pennsylvania, the Lusa agency was received with hostility when trying to speak to several supporters about expectations for the November 5th vote: "He's a journalist, don't talk with her", "I don't talk to journalists" or "what the press writes is all lies".
Two days later, at the unusual campaign rally in Pennsylvania where Trump spent around 45 minutes on stage just listening to music, the former president once again attacked media outlets, especially the CNN International network, leading his supporters to target to the press area and booing and making obscene gestures at the journalists.
"The 'mainstream media' are responsible for hiding the country's truths and distorting the image of Donald Trump," a supporter of the Republican tycoon told Lusa at the same event.
The former president frequently demonizes journalists and encourages his supporters to mock reporters covering his campaign events, undermining public trust in the press.
In August, at a rally in Pennsylvania, Trump classified journalists as "enemies of the people." Less than 10 minutes later, a man present at the event tried to break into the press section, and was stopped by the police.
In July, moments after Trump was the target of an assassination attempt during a rally, the candidate's supporters quickly blamed the press for what happened.
Sophia Cai, a reporter for the Axios portal who was at the scene, reported hearing Trump supporters shout: "Fake news! It's your fault! (...) You're next! Your time is coming." There was also an attempt to invade the press area.
Trump's continued attacks on the press and journalistic freedom in the middle of the campaign are a continuation of incendiary rhetoric that was recorded even during the years he was President.
Since announcing his first presidential candidacy in 2015 until leaving the presidency in early 2021, Trump posted negative comments about the press more than 2,490 times on the former Twitter, according to the US Press Freedom Tracker database.
In the four years he led the country, Trump called for boycotts of news organizations, tried to deny press credentials to reporters and media whose articles he did not like, among other attempts to obstruct press freedom.
According to the non-governmental organization (NGO) Reporters Without Borders (RSF), "former President Donald Trump's political career was in part defined by his propensity to spread falsehoods", having done, throughout his first term, “more than 30,000 false or misleading statements, a volume of inaccuracy unparalleled in American history,” including the consistent denial of the 2020 election results.
In a demonstration of how misinformation can lead to violence, RSF highlighted the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, which resulted in several deaths, after Trump repeated false claims that the election had been stolen from him and urged his supporters to take action.
During the riot, the tycoon's supporters destroyed journalistic equipment and threatened communications professionals with messages such as "Murder the media!"
According to recent studies, the level of distrust surrounding the press is unprecedented in the United States.
"There is a worrying pattern of harassment, intimidation and assault on journalists in the field," said RSF
Last month, an online news channel targeting the Haitian-American community, The Haitian Times, received anonymous threats and its editor, Macollvie Neel, saw police entering her home after a false report of a crime at her home.
That episode was just one example of a series of threats and attacks that Neel and his colleagues have faced since Trump and Vance amplified conspiracy theories about Haitian immigrants in Ohio, even after authorities denied their veracity.
After the false allegations were debunked, JD Vance admitted he was willing to "create stories so the media will actually pay attention."
Last year, Donald Trump announced that he will investigate media outlets such as NBC News and MSNBC if he is re-elected to the White House.
"I say, openly and proudly, that when I win the Presidency, they and others in the LameStream Media will be scrutinized for their knowingly dishonest and corrupt coverage of people, things and events," he wrote. Trump on Truth Social, his social network.
The non-profit organization Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which promotes press freedom around the world, stressed that Trump's rhetoric during the 2024 election campaign has resulted in an increasingly precarious security environment for reporters. , who face a greater risk of violence, arrest, 'online and offline' harassment and legal battles.
"Politicizing and denigrating journalists, rather than respecting their 'watchdog' role as the 'Fourth Estate,' has a profound impact on democratic institutions and restricts the public's ability to stay informed through trusted sources. The outcome of the November election will largely determine the health of the media environment globally in the coming decades," CPJ assessed.
