Donald J. Trump: President or Something Else?

Today the President of the United States openly threatened NBC, one of the oldest broadcasters in the United States with a revocation of its license because they published a story he deemed to be “fake-news”.

Regardless of the merits of the story or the overall treatment of the President by the media, the idea that our President, a man who swore to uphold the constitution of the united states, would so brazenly threaten the first amendment rights of our fellow citizens is a sad testament to how far we have sunk as a country.

The sorts of statements put out by the President are unequivocally the stuff of third world strongmen and dictators, same as the threats that have come out of the mouths of people like Nicholas Maduro.

This is something that should go beyond politics for all patriotic Americans, we cannot accept the creation of a status quo where political representatives, especially the President, can simply threaten people openly because they publish things not to their liking.

I am no fan of the mainstream media and I acknowledge that they have never given the President a fair shake, yet he is either unable or unwilling to control his impulses and emotions, to be the strong, steady leader we need as a country in these chaotic times.

The one thing we should demand of a President, beyond any particular policy goals or personal wishes for the future of the country, is a sincere defense of our fundamental liberties.

If a President cannot be counted on that most fundamental of tasks, then he sets himself up against not just those of the opposing party, but the whole of the citizenry as well, at least those who value liberty above partisan politics.

Yes, past Presidents have abused or disregarded our rights, often doing what they wanted or thought necessary instead of what the constitution demanded, yet this is the first time in my life that I have heard a President threaten a specific organization so obviously to shut them up.

Thankfully our system is still robust enough to protect us from the predations of a person who clearly does not want to live up to the ideals of the office he holds, but if we stay silent now, especially Republicans, then we risk a future where we or our children might not have a choice to speak up at all.