NY Times editor: Trump has sent message to ‘despots’ that it’s OK to attack press

New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet is arguing that President Trump’s attacks against the news media are sending a message to “despots” around the world that they can disrespect the press.

“I’m deeply concerned, not only concerned … about what happens inside the United States at some of the volatile Trump rallies – I think that the president has sent a message to despots abroad that you can disrespect the press,” Baquet said during a portion of an interview with CNN’s David Axelrod that aired on Friday. 

“We’ve had presidents attack the press, we’ve never had a president go on foreign soil and attack the press,” he added.

{mosads}

Baquet noted that correspondents from The Times and other media outlets often operate in foreign countries where the governments can be hostile to the press.

Trump “has essentially told those governments, you can beat up the press, you can call them enemies of the people,” Baquet said.

Trump, who has often sparred with members of the news media and at times entire outlets over what he deems as unfair coverage, escalated his attacks earlier this month, tweeting to claim that journalists can also “cause war.”

“The Fake News hates me saying that they are the Enemy of the People only because they know it’s TRUE,” he said. “I am providing a great service by explaining this to the American People.”

“They purposely cause great division & distrust,” he added. “They can also cause War! They are very dangerous & sick!”

Many news organizations have pushed back against such attacks.

Earlier this week, in an effort spearheaded by The Boston Globe, hundreds of newspapers around the country published editorials denouncing Trump’s frequent attacks against the media.

Baquet drew attention late last month when he said he did not attend a private meeting between Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger and President Trump because he doesn’t “go off the record with high-ranking officials, particularly the president.”

Trump later broke the off-the-record agreement by claiming on Twitter that the meeting was focused in part on “the vast amounts of Fake News being put out by the media & how that Fake News has morphed into phrase, ‘Enemy of the People.'”