“You make look very bad.”
Red-faced, thin-skinned and a bully. If you watched Donald Trump’s press conference/tantrum today, that, tragically, is an apt description of the presumptive Republican nominee. It’s also a description of a volatile leader who is leading one of the world’s worst campaigns against press freedom.
“You make me look very bad.”
Like Trump today, Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan believes — as Trump evidently believes — that it the media’s job to portray powerholders in the most flattering light possible.
As Managing Director of HALC, a nonpartisan nonprofit focusing on the region, I spend my days researching the disturbing turn away from the West by Turkey’s president. I’ve watched countless of hours of video of a strongman at a podium lashing out at the press and threatening them. What I saw today with Trump’s press conference turned my stomach.
Erdogan was prime minister of Turkey and then, when his term limit came up, he just switched over being president. Now, he’s trying to change the constitution to consolidate even more power. Over the years, he’s taking Turkey from a moderate Muslim country with relatively stable neighborly relations to an unpredictable mess of a quasi-democracy and an unreliable ally.
So here we are, in the greatest democracy on earth, with a national leader (and like it or not, Trump is now a “national leader”) standing behind a podium sounding like an authoritarian politician drunk with power.
As an American, regardless of party, I’m shocked. I’ve come to expect this in other parts of the world. Not here at home.
And Trump audaciously promises that if he is elected, this is how it’s going to be: “If you think I’m going to change, I’m not changing.”
Ugh. One Erdogan on the world stage is enough.
TAKE THE QUIZ
Who said it...Turkey’s authoritarian president or Donald Trump?
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“You're a sleaze because you know the facts and you know the facts well.”
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"If [reporters] insult me, my lawyers will go and file a lawsuit.”
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“Know your place.”
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“You know my opinion of the media. It’s very low.”
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"The person who wrote this story will pay a heavy price for it; I won't let him go unpunished."
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On the opposition: "Their biggest ally is [the] Media”
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"The press is so dishonest and so unfair.”
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To reporter: “I think you should change your [profession]."
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To The New York Times: “As a newspaper, you should know your place."
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“They write lies, they write false stories. They know they’re false.”
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"The press should be ashamed of themselves”
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"The press … had been very critical of me, attacking me"
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On a reporter’s piece: “Shameless, immoral, treason.”
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“I'm going to continue to attack the press”
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CNN “doesn't care about a free, impartial and independent press. They are assigned to work like spies."
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“If this is journalism, then down with your journalism."
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"I'm not at war with the press”
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“I think the media is frankly made up of people that in many cases, not in all cases, are not good people.”
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A "shameless militant disguised under the name of a journalist."
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Journalists who claim they are harassed: “Their sources are wrong."
ANSWERS
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“You're a sleaze because you know the facts and you know the facts well.” [source] — Trump
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"If [reporters] insult me, my lawyers will go and file a lawsuit.” [source] — Erdogan
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“Know your place.” [source] — Erdogan
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“You know my opinion of the media. It’s very low.” [source] — Trump
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"The person who wrote this story will pay a heavy price for it; I won't let him go unpunished." [source] — Erdogan
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On the opposition: "Their biggest ally is [the] Media” [source] — Erdogan
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"The press is so dishonest and so unfair.” [source] — Trump
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To reporter: “I think you should change your [profession]." [source] — Erdogan
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To The New York Times: “As a newspaper, you should know your place." [source] — Erdogan
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“They write lies, they write false stories. They know they’re false.” [source] — Trump
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"The press should be ashamed of themselves” [source] — Trump
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"The press … had been very critical of me, attacking me" [source] — Erdogan
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On a reporter’s piece: “Shameless, immoral, treason.” [source] — Erdogan
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“I'm going to continue to attack the press” [source] — Trump
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CNN “doesn't care about a free, impartial and independent press. They are assigned to work like spies." [source] — Erdogan
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“If this is journalism, then down with your journalism." [source] — Erdogan
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"I'm not at war with the press” [source] — Erdogan
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“I think the media is frankly made up of people that in many cases, not in all cases, are not good people.” [source] — Trump
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A "shameless militant disguised under the name of a journalist." [source] — Erdogan
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Journalists who claim they are harassed: “Their sources are wrong." [source] — Erdogan
A huge shout out to Adam Taylor for the research on the Erdogan quotes