Donald Trump feels badly treated by the press – “illegal”

US President Donald Trump has a large part of the reporting of US media about himself as “illegal” designated. “You will take a great story and you will make them bad”said Trump on Friday. He think that is “really illegal”. The organization “Reporter without limits” Meanwhile, defendant one “escalation” In the United States in action against Trump-critical journalists and media since the murder attack on the ultra-right activist Charlie Kirk.

Trump said in front of reporters in the White House that 97 percent of the reporting about him and his government were “bad”. However, he did not explain to what extent such critical reporting “illegal” could be.

Trump has been against the media in an unprecedented manner since he took office in January, who, according to his presentation, spread lies and false information about him and his government. So he sued the newspaper a few days ago “New York Times” due to alleged defamation to a compensation of $ 15 billion (around 12.7 billion euros).

According to the assessment of “Reporter without limits” (RSF) The situation for journalists in the United States has agreed again since the attack on Kirk on September 10th. It has been since Trump’s taking office “Steps towards restriction of freedom of the press” given, “But since the murder of Charlie Kirk we have seen a real escalation”said the managing director of the German section of the organization, Anja Osterhaus, in an interview with the AFP news agency.

So Trump not only celebrated Jimmy Kimmel’s late night show, the Trumps “Maga”-Movement (“Makes America great again”) had accused the murder of Kirks politically. “In addition, the president has proposed to check a license with practically all TV channels because he feels too strongly criticized. It is an extreme step for the government of a democratic state to make such suggestions”said Osterhaus.

A few days ago, the ABC broadcaster had off the show of the satirist Kimmel and justified this with its statements about the Kirk attack. The head of the US media supervisory authority FCC, Brendan Carr, appointed Kimmel’s statements beforehand and threatened senders with a license withdrawal, should radiate Kimmels Show. Trump praised Carr on Friday as “an incredible American patriot with courage”.

In July the broadcaster CBS already had the end of the “Late Show” of satirist Stephen Colbert announced. He is also a decisive Trump critic.

Also in July Trump had a billion lawsuit against the media mogul of Rupert Murdoch and that “Wall Street Journal” submitted after the leaf reported on his previous relationships with the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Trump demands at least ten billion dollars (around 8.6 billion euros) from Murdoch and his leaf. The broadcasters ABC and CBS News also got into Trump’s visor and agreed to him in millions of payments.

Osterhaus said the wave of lawsuits against the media “can only be understood as an intimidation attempt”. Even if it is not yet real bans and with it “Not about censorship in the narrower sense, the effect is still very problematic for free reporting”. There are many indicators that the United States will continue to slip on the freedom of the press. The United States is currently in 57th place in the RSF ranking-well behind Germany, the eleventh place.

Osterhaus also commented on the announcement of the US government to significantly restrict the Visadauer for foreign journalists. “We have to fear that this is also a conscious means of converting correspondents who critically report on the US government because they may not get an extension of their visas after eight months.”

“We welcome the fact that Federal Foreign Minister Johann WadePhul has clearly commented on this. And we ask the media houses and correspondents not to be intimidated”added Osterhaus.

WadePhul (CDU) said on Wednesday that the federal government was expecting German media professionals “Can work freely and independently for our allies in the USA and of course also with our allies in the United States”. Trump’s special sent in Richard Grenell recently threatened the ZDF correspondent in Washington, Elmar Theveßen, with the withdrawal of his visa. The background was in particular criticism of Theveßen’s reporting on the Kirk attack.

Trump has the murdered ultra -right activist “martyr” designated. A funeral service for Kirk will take place in Glendale in the US state of Arizona, to which Trump and his Vice JD Vance are expected.