Nick Hughes

Opinion Editor

Violence begets violence and what is happening in the world right now is a prime example of that. President Donald J. Trump announced on Friday, April 13, that he authorized military strikes against Syria in collaboration with the UK and France. This in response to the chemical weapon attacks that the Syrian government committed against its own people. What really baffles me is that while President Trump was making an address that night, I still have no faith in him. How can I have faith in a President who discredits one of the most important institutions in America? The press has been bullied, mocked and discredited by the President.

I did not vote for Donald Trump, and I am glad that I can say that, and what I see him do daily makes me question him even more than I did prior to the election. His tweetstorms are reminiscent of a child throwing a tantrum after they were caught doing something they were told they could not do. I do not get why the President of the United States of America can have tantrums on Twitter?

Take this tweet for instance, “If I wanted to fire Robert Mueller in December, as reported by the Failing New York Times, I would have fired him. Just more Fake News from a biased newspaper!” What about that helps anyone? This tweet was sent out on April 12, 2018. What is the point of saying “Failing New York Times,” I do not understand? The media is one of the institutions that is supposed to report on what the President does. It is the primary link between the President and the people that either support or do not support him.

In the tweet, he is tarnishing the reputation of one of the most reputable newspapers in the world. I would say that he is acting childish and throwing another tantrum, but he keeps on doing it. President Trump has been targeting the media since he became the 45th president of the United States. I would say even before then. The media platforms that he targets all have had news reports that call into question his decisions. He calls them failing or biased. If we are being honest with ourselves all newspapers have a bias; it is what we as a country allow them to have.

Newspapers can be biased though, and I do not think that the President gets that. He is used to running a business where his word is law. That is not the case for running a nation. He is trying to run our nation like a business at all levels. President Trump has an agenda, that much is obvious, and if anything or anybody is opposed he either removes them, fires them, or defames them.

Take, for instance, President Trump’s handling of former FBI director James Comey. The definition of defamation is as follows: the action of damaging the good reputation of someone; slander or libel. James Comey had a good reputation amongst those in Washington. The events that took place that caused Comey to lose his job as FBI director was revealed to the nation through mainstream media and Twitter. President Trump threw a temper tantrum about what Comey was doing and fired him.

The media covered all of this and when a commentator made a remark that President Trump did not find to be to his liking, it was almost guaranteed that he would tweet about one of the news networks being corrupt, biased, fake, or untrue. Journalism is my profession and I hope to write about ethics and various political topics that have to do with ethics. Ethics are being cast aside in this era. I know the term alternative facts and fake news are not new, but their overuse is becoming tiresome in the political world that I am a part of now.

I cannot morally or ethically follow a man like Donald Trump as my president. I support the office of the President and I want that office to retain the honor and dignity it once had, but that office is now at a low point in history. We as a nation need to hold him accountable. That is why we must vote and be active politically. It is up to the American people to keep the government in line and right now the government needs to be reminded who they actually work for.