Trump critic, Arizona Republican Senator Jeff Flake plans to deliver a speech criticizing the president’s criticism of the news media. The speech is intended to counter Trump’s announcement on January 17 of his “fake news” awards to outlets he considered unfair. Last year Trump called the news media “the enemy of the American people.” (Denver Post, January 15, 2018, by Ed O’Keefe of The Washington Post)
Flake’s statement will say, “The free press is the despot’s enemy, which makes the free press the guardian of democracy. When a figure in power reflexively calls any press that doesn’t suit him ‘fake news,’ it is that person who should be the figure of suspicion, not the press.” Flake, who will not be running for re-election, is using his remaining time in the senate to speak out when Trump errs. (CNN, January 15, 2018, by Aileen Graef and Liz Turrell)