Throughout the tumultuous years of the first Trump presidency we never minimised or normalised the threat of his authoritarianism, and we treated his lies as a genuine danger to democracy, a threat that found its expression on 6 January 2021.
With Trump weeks away from taking office again – with dramatic implications for Ukraine and the Middle East, US democracy, reproductive rights, inequality and our collective environmental future – it’s time for us to redouble our efforts to hold the president-elect and those who surround him to account.
It’s going to be an enormous challenge. And we need your help.
Trump is a direct threat to the freedom of the press. He has, for years, stirred up hatred against reporters, calling them an “enemy of the people”. He has referred to legitimate journalism as “fake news” and joked about members of the media being shot. Project 2025, the blueprint for a second Trump presidency, includes plans to make it easier to seize journalists’ emails and phone records.
We will stand up to these threats, but it will take brave, well-funded independent journalism. It will take reporting that can’t be leaned upon by a billionaire owner terrified of retribution from the White House.
www.theguardian.com
