The column below reflects the views of the author, and these opinions are neither endorsed nor supported by WisOpinion.com.

The First Amendment to the Constitution says in part, “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press … .” That’s a bedrock protecting our rights. However, from the beginning, Trump has acted otherwise. In 2017, Trump declared that the press is “the enemy of the American people.” Moreover, Trump libeled ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and the NYT as “The Fake News media.”

Arizona GOP Senator John McCain defended the press: That’s “how dictators get started. … We need a free press. We must have it. It’s vital.” Wisconsin Democratic Senator Russ Feingold eulogized McCain after his 2018 death: “John would have been a very good president. His fundamental respect for diverging viewpoints, his willingness to befriend people from different parties and philosophies, his intense desire not for political dominance but to get things done, and yes, his sense of humor, would have served our divided nation and world well.”

How far we have fallen under Trump. His second administration has accelerated and intensified attacks and actions against the press. The NYT editorialized: Trump “pushed Congress to end funding for public radio and television. He extracted multimillion-dollar payments from ABC, Paramount (which owns CBS), YouTube and Meta to settle baseless claims that he has been treated unfairly, and he is pursuing lawsuits against the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. All these moves are meant to reduce coverage that does not parrot his views.”

Trump has also transformed independent federal agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) into weaponized tools to serve the authoritarian partisan interests of the White House. Trump sicced the FTC on Apple News alleging bias. Worse, the FCC threatened to revoke the licenses of ABC affiliates for airing comedian Jimmy Kimmel: “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct, to take action, frankly on Kimmel, or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.” Kimmel’s show was briefly suspended but restored after a public uproar.

More recently, Trump barred reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House for their “purposefully negative stories.” A federal court has taken steps to end this dictatorial nonsense. A Fox News reported agreed: “The American public’s right to an independent press depends on reporters being able to do their jobs without fear that challenging the president will cut off their access.” Note: Wisconsin GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany shamefully barred MJS reporters from attending a campaign event. 

Another dire threat to our right to know is a shrinking press. Wisconsin lost 2 daily and 75 weekly newspapers, 2004 – 2019 (UNC-Chapel Hill Hussman School of Journalism and Media). And, the NYT reported that from 2005 – 2026 “more than 3,500 newspapers have shuttered.” To protect our freedoms, please financially support the Wisconsin press: WisPolitics, Cap Times, Wisconsin State Journal, MJS, Urban Milwaukee, Wisconsin Public Radio, PBS Wisconsin and the Associated Press. It’s important.

Kaplan wrote a guest column from Washington, D.C., for the Wisconsin State Journal from 1995 – 2009.