Lost in the shuffle of headlines about FBI Director James Comey’s firing is a telling quote from Kellyanne Conway that sheds a frightening light on how the Trump administration views the role of the press.
In an interview with CNN’s Chris Cuomo, Conway dropped the following on viewers:
“You want to question the timing of when he fires? When he hires? It’s inappropriate.”
Let’s let that sink in for a moment. One of the top advisors at the White House just said that it is “inappropriate” for the press to question the president of the United States.
Let me break it down a little further. The political party in power told citizens that the leader of their political party and of the country, is above questioning and scrutiny.
This is scary stuff. This is so contrary to the first amendment that it should be setting off alarm bells for even the most conservative among us. “Big Government” just told the free press, “You have no right to question us.”
Fortunately, under the Constitution — which outranks the executive branch — the press has the right, as enshrined by the first amendment, to question. It is not only appropriate for the press to question the president, it is allowed and protected.
Any suggestion that any question — especially regarding hirings and firings of officials who are funded by the taxpayers — from a free press is inappropriate smacks of a level of authoritarianism that should never exist in the United States of America.
This should not be a partisan issue. This is not about Donald Trump or your feelings toward him. This is not about James Comey and whether or not you feel his firing was justified. This is about whether or not the press has the right to question the president. Kelleyanne Conway’s suggestion that there is any circumstance where questioning is inappropriate, should frighten you whether you are a democrat or a republican and whether the president is a democrat or a republican.
Not only, is Conway’s suggestion inappropriate, it is best described using a word that packs a far more powerful punch… Unconstitutional.
Photo Credit: Ron Adar / Shutterstock.com
Be First to Comment