Targeted By Trump, New York Times And Washington Post Join Forces For A Tough Battle

“The Washington Post is far more fiction than fact. Story after story is made up garbage – more like a poorly written novel than good reporting. Always quoting sources (not names), many of which don’t exist. Story on John Kelly isn’t true, just another hit job!”

The tweet by US President Donald Trump may look like copy-pasted from the statements coming from Turkish President Erdoğan, his Egyptian counterpart Sisi, or Azerbaijan's leader, Aliyev, but the real shock is how unprecedented this one is in a country where media freedom is a staunch pillar, protected by the constitution. Some already argue that politics is now being taken over by mafia patterns, and they have a strong point.

Trump's latest rant follows a series of threats and attacks against Amazon. He criticized the company in tweets during the past two weeks, accusing the giant of dodging taxes. The real point is, he also accused Amazon of using the Washington Post as its “chief lobbyist.” Easy to imagine what's next, and many in the mainstream, critical American media feel the heat and are issuing warnings.

“It’s out of control,'' said Dean Baquet, executive editor of the New York Times. 

''It’s out of control and his advisers should tell him to stop, because it’s actually affecting the civic life and debate of the country... I think the president missed the part of high school civics where the first amendment was explained, and where the role of free and independent press was explained. And I think this is debilitating.”

The tension has now united NYT and Washington Post, arch-rivals in serious journalism for decades. And Baquet signals a tough battle ahead. 

“(We will) fight to the death on daily stories … [because] it’s healthy for the country to have institutions fighting to the death. But we believe in the same principles. And I will defend them on these principles and they will defend me on these principles.”