Over the weekend, President-elect Donald Trump posed with several reporters at a holiday party hosted at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Mediaite reports that quite a few well-known journalists such as CNN’s Jeremy Diamond, NBC News’ Hallie Jackson, and Politico co-founder Mike Allen, were in attendance at Trump’s private party, where they had an opportunity to engage in off-the-record chats with the president-elect.
At some point during the evening, Allen posted a photo of Trump posing with the journalists in attendance on his Twitter account. In the caption, he described Trump as “relaxed and chatty.”
Christmas @ Mar-a-Lago: @realDonaldTrump, relaxed and chatty, hosts press for drinks — off-record but pics OK @axios pic.twitter.com/lysW7FHzIl
— Mike Allen (@mikeallen) December 19, 2016
However, as you can imagine, Allen’s post did not go over very well with many in the Twitter community.
@mikeallen @axios would love full list of complicit and compliant press for future reference
— alisa perren (@aperren) December 19, 2016
Over past week, Trump's mocked the press on "Thank you" tour and canceled first news conference since July. Here's how reporters respond: https://t.co/K14FEKf4bX
— Michael Calderone (@mlcalderone) December 19, 2016
@mikeallen @Morning_Joe @jwpetersNYT good thing Allen got his chance to suck up to the guy demonizing the press and using them as props. Sad
— Michael Carroll (@Carrollmikej) December 19, 2016
@mikeallen @realDonaldTrump @axios How does rich orange ass taste?
— Willing to discuss (@buffsblg) December 19, 2016
@crecenteb @mikeallen @realDonaldTrump @axios That's their souls leaving their bodies. That stench is what's left of their integrity
— (((💚LJ💚))) (@ljohn44) December 19, 2016
@ljohn44 @crecenteb @mikeallen @realDonaldTrump @axios nah, that's their journalistic integrity leaving their bodies.
— M. J. Yamaguchi, PhD (@mjyams) December 19, 2016
@ljohn44 @crecenteb @mikeallen @realDonaldTrump @axios it's the Gated Village of the Damned
— Linda Gottlieb (@linda_gottlieb) December 19, 2016
@mikeallen @realDonaldTrump @axios Thanks for whoring yourself for access
— Jeremy M (@thismyshow) December 19, 2016
"Off the record but pics ok" HOW. ARE. YOU. THIS. STUPID. He ripped Mitt Romney's balls from his body with the EXACT SAME TRICK. @mikeallen
— MAX IM A KOOPA (@meakoopa) December 19, 2016
@mlcalderone pic.twitter.com/UXUAC89Ntk
— Street Spirit (@StreetSpiritNYC) December 19, 2016
@mlcalderone Battered spouse syndrome at its best. Terrorize them at rallies,then offer cocktails and photo op. "Smile for Access!" ThumbsUp
— Nancy M Tice (@BlueSpiderwort) December 19, 2016
@mikeallen lol in all seriousness though this is terribly embarrassing for you & everyone in this photo should be ashamed. happy holidays!
— Silpa Kovvali (@SilpaKov) December 19, 2016
While it’s understandable that the press would want to build some sort of rapport with the incoming president, Trump represents a unique challenge. He stands firmly against the First Amendment unless he or one of his supporters are exercising it. He’s also done more damage to the reputation of the free press than any other U.S. president.
In other words, his agenda is crystal clear. He wants to replace journalism with propaganda, replacing objective journalism with sources like Breitbart, Fox News, and Alex Jones. Unfortunately, he’s been more than successful convincing a large chunk of the U.S. population that his word is gospel and everything else is “fake news.”
For a journalist to smile and pose for pictures with Trump may be a necessary evil to facilitate mainstream press access to the president.
However, it’s a double-edged sword because it also lends legitimacy to a man intent on destroying the very ideals the people in that photograph have dedicated their lives to.
There is a real concern that the “normalization of Trump” is adding fuel to the continued rise of violence and white supremacist ideals.
Are people on Twitter overreacting sounding the alarm? Time will tell.
Featured image via Twitter
