In Trump’s Washington, a Moscow-Like Chill Takes Hold

[Hume]

The decision by President Trump’s team to handpick which news organizations can participate in the White House press pool that questions him in the Oval Office or travels with him on Air Force One is a step in a direction that no modern American president of either party has ever taken. The White House said it was a privilege, not a right, to have such access, and that it wanted to open space for “new media” outlets, including those that just so happen to support Mr. Trump.

In Trump’s Washington, a Moscow-Like Chill Takes Hold

A new administration’s efforts to pressure the news media, punish political opponents and tame the nation’s tycoons evoke the early days of President Vladimir V. Putin’s reign in Russia.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Hume]

But after the White House’s decision to bar the venerable Associated Press as punishment for its coverage, the message is clear: Any journalist can be expelled from the pool at any time for any reason. There are worse penalties, as Ms. Tregubova would later discover, but in Moscow, at least, her eviction was an early step down a very slippery slope.

 

[Walt]

This is going to get ugly. It already is ugly, but it is going to get far worse.

 

[Hume]

This is going to get ugly. It already is ugly, but it is going to get far worse.

Much worse. We are witnessing the worst time in America's history.