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A dangerous suggestion

One of the more troubling aspects of Donald Trump’s presidency is the almost casual way he daily denigrates the First Amendment.

On Tuesday, he suggested that perhaps NBC should lose its broadcasting license for airing a story he didn’t like. NBC cited three folks in a meeting as sources for a story that said the president wanted to increase the United States’ nuclear arsenal tenfold.

In an early morning Tweet, the president asked:

“With all of the Fake News coming out of NBC and the Networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their License? Bad for country!”

Then he added:

“Fake @NBCNews made up a story that I wanted a ‘tenfold’ increase in our U.S. nuclear arsenal. Pure fiction, made up to demean. NBC = CNN!”

Well, the president has certainly indicated he’d like to see an increase in our nuclear arsenal before. USA Today dug up a Tweet from last Dec. 16 where Trump asserted:

“The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes.”

President Trump has made “Fake News” a part of the daily political jargon. Threatening going after a broadcaster’s license, though, was a little overboard, even for him.

Frankly, we agree with a Tweet put out by former Barack Obama adviser David Axelrod. He responded to the president’s remarks about NBC this way:

“There were times in WH when we disliked coverage. Never did we suggest denying broadcaster licenses. Come on, POTUS. Is this Russia or USA?”

* Editorials reflect the opinion of the publisher.

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