Readers React: ‘Enemy of the people’? More like honest reporters whose journalism annoys Trump

To the editor: I am grateful to New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger for telling us what actually took place when he met with President Trump to discuss his repeated “fake news” taunts and his references to the press as the “enemy of the people.”

For those who agree with Trump, I would like them to read about Watergate and the Roman Catholic Church’s sex abuse scandal. Those huge stories came to the public’s awareness because of reporters. It was Washington Post journalists who reported the Nixon administration’s activities, and it was Boston Globe journalists who exposed the church’s abuse scandal.

The American media are most definitely not the enemy of the people, but astoundingly, some people actually believe the president when he says otherwise. The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe, the Washington Post — all of these report real news. These are among the papers we should read.

Lindsay Soderlund, Glendale

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To the editor: Sulzberger reports that he warned the president against the use of anti-media rhetoric. “It’s not just divisive, but increasingly dangerous,” he said of Trump’s rhetoric.

That’s a rich statement to make when the major media outlets have called the president a racist, unhinged, a liar, stupid and morally corrupt, among other things. Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) was nearly killed last year in a shooting attack in Washington targeting the congressional Republicans’ baseball team, so please, spare us the the hysteria.

Jeffrey Whitfield, Santa Ana

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To the editor: Trump attacks the 1st Amendment when he uses the label “fake news” to describe journalism he does not like. He vilifies reporters for doing their jobs.

At his inauguration, Trump pledged to protect and defend the Constitution. What we are getting instead is a president who believes he is above the law.

Carol Karas, Camarillo

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