{"id":33971,"date":"2017-02-23T13:37:11","date_gmt":"2017-02-23T21:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=33971"},"modified":"2017-02-23T13:39:21","modified_gmt":"2017-02-23T21:39:21","slug":"bin-laden-ops-chief-calls-trump-the-greatest-threat-to-democracy-in-my-lifetime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=33971","title":{"rendered":"Bin Laden Ops Chief Calls Trump ‘The Greatest Threat To Democracy In My Lifetime’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week Donald Trump outdid himself on Twitter. For someone who has a record of repulsive and ignorant outbursts, Trump achieved a new low<\/a><\/strong> when he tweeted that the media “is the enemy of the American People.”<\/em> It was reflective of his authoritarian attitude and disrespect for American principles.<\/p>\n

Ever since then Trump has been castigated as a wannabe dictator and a suppressor of the free press. This is nothing new for Trump. Organizations that advocate for the welfare of journalists universally condemned him. The Committee to Protect Journalists issued a warning<\/a><\/strong> that “A Trump presidency would represent a threat to press freedom in the United States.”<\/em> The National Press Club released a similar statement condemning Trump\u2019s anti-press tactics as “unacceptable and dangerous to our democracy.”<\/em> The reporter who uncovered Watergate, Carl Bernstein, said Trump is “more treacherous than Nixon<\/a><\/strong>.”<\/em><\/p>\n

\"McRaven\"
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

Now another critic has emerged with unique credentials to comment on this. William McRaven, Chancellor of the University of Texas system, delivered a speech<\/a><\/strong> in which the subject was addressed. It’s important to note that McRaven is also a retired Navy admiral. Among his military accomplishments is that he designed and oversaw the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. So what did this American hero have to say about Trump’s enemies list?<\/p>\n

“The president said the news media is the enemy of the American people. This sentiment may be the greatest threat to democracy in my lifetime.”<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Wow. That’s not a liberal journalist sitting in a New York TV studio. And it’s not some flaky leftist who sips lattes and coddles refugees. That’s the guy who led the Special Ops mission to get Bin Laden. It’s fair to assume that he’s encountered numerous threats to democracy in his lifetime. The fact that he is singling this one out as the greatest is significant – and frightening.<\/p>\n

\n

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
\nFox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.<\/a>
\nAvailable now at Amazon.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

McRaven’s military career is not the only source of validation for his opinions on the press. In 1977, before his service and his chancellorship, he graduated from UT Austin with a degree in journalism. So what we have here is a man who has proven his patriotism and put his life on the line for it. And also a man with relevant knowledge of the media, its history, and its ethical practice. Sadly, many of Trump’s glassy-eyed followers will pay no attention to McRaven’s remarks. But maybe some of the less cult driven Republicans will listen and heed his warning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week Donald Trump outdid himself on Twitter. For someone who has a record of repulsive and ignorant outbursts, Trump achieved a new low when he tweeted that the media “is the enemy of the American People.” It was reflective of his authoritarian attitude and disrespect for American principles. Ever since then Trump has been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33974,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1,1200],"tags":[554,409],"class_list":["post-33971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","category-politics","tag-donald-trump","tag-osama-bin-laden"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4Ijg-8PV","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":32880,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=32880","url_meta":{"origin":33971,"position":0},"title":"Journalists’ Org BLASTS Trump As ‘An Unprecedented Threat\u2019 To Press Freedom","author":"Mark NC","date":"10\/13\/2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The United States has never seen the likes of Donald Trump\u2019s presidential campaign. He has spent the last year and a half engaged solely in puerile insults and personal attacks. His victims have included women, minorities, veterans, and anyone he deemed less than reverential. However, the media has borne much\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Election"","block_context":{"text":"Election","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=152"},"img":{"alt_text":"Donald Trump","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/trump-time.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/trump-time.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/trump-time.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":39767,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=39767","url_meta":{"origin":33971,"position":1},"title":"Semper WTFi? Trump Tells Fox News that He Only Supports the Military if They Bow Down to Him","author":"Mark NC","date":"11\/18\/2018","format":false,"excerpt":"This has been a busy Sunday for Donald Trump. 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There has never been a \"news\" organization more tightly aligned with a political leader and party than Fox News.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Free Press"","block_context":{"text":"Free Press","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=14"},"img":{"alt_text":"Donald Trump, Fox News, White House","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/trump-whitehouse-foxnews.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/trump-whitehouse-foxnews.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/trump-whitehouse-foxnews.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":37706,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=37706","url_meta":{"origin":33971,"position":3},"title":"Thanks to Donald Trump the U.S. Falls to 45th Place in the World Press Freedom Index","author":"Mark NC","date":"4\/25\/2018","format":false,"excerpt":"There is no question that Donald Trump is a bitter enemy of of press freedom and the Constitution's First Amendment. 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