Jeff Flake expected to deliver floor speech comparing Trump's attacks on media to Stalin's

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Jeff Flake expected to deliver floor speech comparing Trump's attacks on media to Stalin's

By Aileen Graef and Liz Turrell, CNN

 

(CNN)Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona is expected to deliver a floor speech on Wednesday in which he will compare President Donald Trump's attacks on the news media to the rhetoric of late Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.

 

According to an excerpt of the speech, Flake will criticize the President for calling the news media the "enemy of the people," calling it "an assault as unprecedented as it is unwarranted."

 

"Mr. President, it is a testament to the condition of our democracy that our own President uses words infamously spoken by Josef Stalin to describe his enemies," reads the excerpt. "It bears noting that so fraught with malice was the phrase 'enemy of the people,' that even Nikita Khrushchev forbade its use, telling the Soviet Communist Party that the phrase had been introduced by Stalin for the purpose of 'annihilating such individuals' who disagreed with the supreme leader."

 

Full story: https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/14/politics/jeff-flake-stalin-donald-trump/index.html

 

-- © Copyright CNN 2018-01-15

[FreddieRoyle]

Trumps attacks on the media are totally justified, in face he should revoke the broadcasting licenses of some of these vile propaganda networks. It's plain to see that the 24/7 extreme negative coverage of all things Trump has led to some severe metal issues amongst the democrat supporters. The shocking insults and tantrums on the Trump impeachment thread on this very forum is proof of this mental instability. Had the media been honest,fair and balanced Trump would not have to repeatedly call out the instances of "fake news". Interestingly fake news was a term coined by these propaganda networks yet when Trump turned it back on them(with proof) they couldn't handle it. 

[daoyai]

The words may be similar but the intent and the situation are vastly different. CNN is no longer "news" source, it is pure leftist propaganda and opinion. The new web based news media is now expanded to include all viewpoints, left, right, center, fringe and crazy. Trump can not control or persecute it as did Uncle Joe Stalin.    Personally I find Trump to be a buffoon with some terrible policies but he is no Stalin or Hitler.

Edited January 15, 2018 by daoyai
additional sentence

[darksidedog]

4 minutes ago, FreddieRoyle said:

Trumps attacks on the media are totally justified, in face he should revoke the broadcasting licenses of some of these vile propaganda networks. It's plain to see that the 24/7 extreme negative coverage of all things Trump has led to some severe metal issues amongst the democrat supporters. The shocking insults and tantrums on the Trump impeachment thread on this very forum is proof of this mental instability. Had the media been honest,fair and balanced Trump would not have to repeatedly call out the instances of "fake news". Interestingly fake news was a term coined by these propaganda networks yet when Trump turned it back on them(with proof) they couldn't handle it. 

So to hell with freedom of speech then?

The media has the right to call it how it sees it. The fact that some disagree with Trump being called an idiot, a racist, a lunatic, mentally retarded, or other things is their choice. It is not odd that only those who love everything he says and does have a problem with it. The old adage that the truth hurts has never been more correct than in this instance. Calling the Media, the enemy of the people is wholly without justification, whoever is stupid enough to come out with it.

[PattayaAngel]

5 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

So to hell with freedom of speech then?

The media has the right to call it how it sees it. The fact that some disagree with Trump being called an idiot, a racist, a lunatic, mentally retarded, or other things is their choice. It is not odd that only those who love everything he says and does have a problem with it. The old adage that the truth hurts has never been more correct than in this instance. Calling the Media, the enemy of the people is wholly without justification, whoever is stupid enough to come out with it.

That's not the point. The point is the media uses 'anonymous' sources daily which leads to the 'Fake News' charge.  They should stop the VILE  'sources close to the President' and 'someone familiar with the matter' BS and people might start to trust them again. Personally, and I am certainly not for Trump, I believe only 20% of what CNN tell me these days when it used to be 80% and every time they open their mouths it's 'our source says' and this = no credibility.  

Edited January 15, 2018 by PattayaAngel

[Peterw42]

13 minutes ago, PattayaAngel said:

That's not the point. The point is the media uses 'anonymous' sources daily which leads to the 'Fake News' charge.  They should stop the VILE  'sources close to the President' and 'someone familiar with the matter' BS and people might start to trust them again. Personally, and I am certainly not for Trump, I believe only 20% of what CNN tell me these days when it used to be 80% and every time they open their mouths it's 'our source says' and this = no credibility.  

What is worse, the anonymous sources etc or Trump quoting FOX News opinion pieces as the source. The famous "just found out Obama has been tapping my phones" quote, turns out Trump got it from a Fox news. 

A closed loop sources, Fox runs a story "Obama tapping Trumps phones listing Trump as the source" , When asked, Trump says Fox is the source.

The fake news problem stems from a president running his own little media outlet via twitter, no fact checking, no sources etc, leaving both sides of the media scrambling to then fact check, source, back up, repute etc.

[lannarebirth]

If I were preparing to run for the presidency in 2020, which Flake is, despite his equivocating on the subject. If I were looking to raise my national profile attacking Trump on a continual basis is what I'd be doing too. He is the perfect foil. It's funny how almost nothing in the news is really about what it purports to be about.

[darksidedog]

39 minutes ago, PattayaAngel said:

That's not the point. The point is the media uses 'anonymous' sources daily which leads to the 'Fake News' charge.  They should stop the VILE  'sources close to the President' and 'someone familiar with the matter' BS and people might start to trust them again. Personally, and I am certainly not for Trump, I believe only 20% of what CNN tell me these days when it used to be 80% and every time they open their mouths it's 'our source says' and this = no credibility.  

And quite clearly you missed my point too. I didn't mention CNN or FOX or anyone else. Although stories belittling Trump and saying bad things about him are hardly restricted to the American press. My point was that the Press will report things the way they see it. Anyone with a brain knows CNN is to the left, FOX is to the right and somewhere in the middle lies the truth. Intelligent people will check multiple sources. Bawling out the media and calling them the enemy of the people is a purely Communist ideology.

If you have a problem with a report, show evidence to the contrary, don't just get pissy and call them names or threaten to ban them. That is where free speech disappears, which was the whole point of my post, not whether all reporting was accurate as you seem to have read it.

[isaanbanhou]

If you discredit the media, the FBI or immigrants it's win win.    if they seem to agree with you, it's because they heeded your advice  and if not, it;s because they are evil

 

An old trick straight out of the National Socialists playbook