After a rash of fury by President Trump regarding the press, Republican Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska felt the need to remind him of the First Amendment rights he swore to uphold when he took the oath of office back in January.
Sasse issued a statement Wednesday night that read: "Mr. President: Words spoken by the President of the United States matter. Are you tonight recanting of the oath you took on January 20th to preserve, protect, and defend the First Amendment?"
The statement was quickly shared by many freedom of the press supporters on Twitter, including Sasse:
The President's attacks on the media have increased in intensity after NBC News published a story that claimed Rex Tillerson's "moron" comment to national security and Cabinet members came after Trump had asked for the nuclear weapons arsenal to be increased "tenfold." The story prompted Trump to tweet out: "With all of the fake news coming out of NBC and the networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their license?"
He doubled down on that sentiment on Wednesday, saying: "Network news has become so partisan, distorted and fake that licenses must be challenged and, if appropriate, revoked. Not fair to public!"
When pressed Wednesday afternoon about whether he believes there should be limits on freedom of the press, Trump said, "no," before telling reporters, "it is frankly disgusting the way the press is able to write whatever they want to write." He also stated: "When they make up stories like that, it's just made up … They make up sources," although he didn't have any evidence to back up the blanket statement.
Given Trump's clear animosity towards news that is unfavorable towards him, many were happy someone was willing to take a stand:
Many felt like Sasse could do even more:
Though some did feel like Trump has a point:
But Trump's alleged "violation" of his oath could have some unintended consequences:
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H/T: Los Angeles Times, The Week, Twitter
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