Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 02:06 pm
Sen. Bernie Sanders responded to some media criticism he received for calling Trump a liar by pointing out to the press that they are misleading the public when they don’t call out Trump’s lies.
Sanders responded to a story criticizing him in The Washington Post, by writing in a post on Medium, “But how do we deal with a president who makes statements that reverberate around our country and the world that are not based on fact or evidence? What is the appropriate way to respond to that? And if the media and political leaders fail to call lies what they are, are they then guilty of misleading the public?”
Sanders also tweeted:
We have a president who either lies intentionally or, even more frighteningly, does not know the difference between lies and truth.
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) March 7, 2017
Sen. Sanders brought up a question that should be a no-brainer for every news organization. The press plays a vital role in accurately informing the public. President Trump may wish that reporters were stenographers and publicity agents, but the purpose of the press is to make sure that the American people are getting the truth and the facts.
When a president makes claims that are not factually accurate or have no basis in fact, it is up to the press to tell the American people that the president is not honest with them. Fulfilling this function isn’t bias. It is upholding reality.
Sen. Sanders was correct. If the press refuses to call out President Trump’s lies, they are playing a willful and intentional role in misleading the public.
Trump was able to exploit the media’s reluctance to fact check to with the Republican presidential nomination and the presidency, but a president who doesn’t subscribe to reality is a danger to governance.
Bernie Sanders went there, and in the process explained why every member of the press needs to call out President Trump’s lies.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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