"The Press is the Enemy"
1972
1972-01-01 Nixon said, “The press is the enemy…the establishment is the enemy…the professors are the enemy…write that on a blackboard 100 times and never forget it”.
2018
2018-01-30 Steve Bannon told Michael Lewis, “The Democrats don’t matter. The real opposition is the media. And the way to deal with them is to flood the zone with shit”.
https://kikiskyeai.substack.com/p/finding-your-footing-in-the-flood
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flood_the_zone
2021
2021-09-01 JD Vance praised Alex Jones and Peter Thiel as unconventional truth-tellers during a Teneo Retreat event presented by the Venverloh Family Foundation.
https://www.propublica.org/article/jd-vance-alex-jones-leonard-leo-teneo-maddow-video
https://www.propublica.org/article/leonard-leo-teneo-videos-documents
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24815790-jd-vance-teneo-network-2021-speech/
https://www.propublica.org/article/we-dont-talk-about-leonard-leo-supreme-court-supermajority
https://www.propublica.org/article/leonard-leo-teneo-videos-documents
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtRPLCso0Sw
2024
2024-11-03 During a rally, Trump encouraged deadly violence, “to get me someone would have to shoot through the fake news, and I don’t mind that so much”.
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/11/03/donald-trump-rally-fake-news-00186979
2025
2025-06-25 Trump posted, “FAKE NEWS CNN IS SO DISGUSTING AND INCOMPETENT. SOME OF THE DUMBEST ANCHORS IN THE BUSINESS!”.
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/114744200351138112
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114747234182168375
2026
2026-05-04 The organization Reporters Without Borders released its 2026 Press Freedom index showing the lowest level of free speech in 25 years, with U.S. ranking at number 64.
https://rsf.org/en/2026-rsf-index-press-freedom-25-year-low
2026-06-02 Hegseth classified the Pentagon press office and physically barred journalists from entering. Reporters Without Borders said, “No matter how petulant Pete gets, journalists will continue their tenacious reporting and hold the Pentagon accountable for the money, operations, and lives they impact every day”.
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5904725-pentagon-bars-reporters-press-office/
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/06/01/pentagon-classified-area-reporters-00945550