Never have we seen an international news media network so obsessed, consumed, biased and unprofessional in their focused-reporting of one particular person, like we have seen exhibited by the CNN against US President Donald Trump. As lovers of Democracy, Social Justice, Equity and Sustainable Development in all spheres of life, we find it appalling to note how an International Media like the CNN have been reporting its news on anything concerning Mr. Donald Trump, which have been more of ‘personal attacks’ against the US President than ‘actual news’ reporting. As an Internationally-recognized media house, the CNN have missed the ‘media tracks’ and professionalism in unbiased reporting, with the way they are going about their daily news. We believe they should avoid these ‘personal attacks-style’ of reporting on President Trump because it is already making the CNN lose its reputation amongst ‘global viewers’.
When a news media house like the CNN, is seen as always “finding and emphasizing faults” on every news concerning US President Trump, then it is obvious that their news cannot be trusted or relied upon by viewers. Right from the months leading to the US Presidential Campaigns and the election, to his swearing in and even up till now, President Donald Trump has become the headline news target of the CNN with its ‘personal attacks’ more than any political leader across the world. To tell us how serious this situation has become. Some few months ago, Isha Sesay resigned from CNN because of its too-much-focus on President Trump. After 13 years as one of the most recognizable faces and beautiful anchors of CNN, the astute Sierra Leonean Journalist, called it quit from CNN. Giving some of her reasons for leaving in a reported interview, she said: “…it is all so Trump-focused… For me, personally, it is not what I want to spend all my time doing… I am ready to take control of what I’m talking about – put a focus on Africa in the way I wish all international media would cover Africa.”
This should tell CNN to be bothered about its news coverage. They should make their news more interesting and informative for their viewers, and not to concentrate on only one person. If it is not Trump this today, it will be Trump this tomorrow – all making their daily news reporting very ‘boring’, uninteresting and sickening. It makes most viewers to think CNN is probably being sponsored to fight only one man – the US President, Donald Trump, because the emphasis on Trump is just simply uncalled for. The focus on Trump has become the only news item they bombard their viewers with on a daily basis. Even CNN’s Senior Correspondents/news Anchors like Amanpour and some others, have practically dedicated their news to focus more on Trump and everything that concerns the US President. It is becoming too obvious that President Trump is the target of the CNN and its owner(s) and reporters. It is as if they have some personal issues/grudges with Trump, which we believe they should simply come out clear and tell the world.
Nothing the US President Trump says or do, that is ever reported by the CNN accurately without any bias or being one-sided. It is as if the CNN is on a vendetta mission against President Trump. But such an advocacy by the CNN against the President of the US, is a costly mistake for America and the entire world on democracy. What the CNN is doing right now is actually causing ‘unrepairable divisions’ within and amongst the American citizens, rather than unite the American people. This has the propensity to adversely affect global democracy. The ‘obvious hatred exhibited’ on Trump by the CNN and their reporters, is simply evil, cruel and wicked. Take for instance the evident disregard, disrespect and rudeness to President Trump by CNN reporters, during the first press statement of the US President after the US mid-term elections that ended recently. No sitting President would be able to tolerate and accommodate such public insult and rudeness. Watching this on was so embarrassing, and we cannot imagine ever seeing such rudeness and disrespect by reporters against a sitting US President during the time of former President Barack Obama. We also simply do not know what the CNN and its reporters were hoping to achieve with such direct and rude confrontation with President Trump. If President Trump says one thing, the CNN will say the opposite and with their usual language of “there is no evidence,” even when it is obvious that they are not being honest and being economical with the truth. The rudeness demonstrated by the CNN reporters against Trump during the said Press statement, is enough evidence to suggest that the CNN is allegedly being sponsored to attack President Trump.
What crime has the US President committed to be treated by the CNN and its reporters so rudely and disrespectfully? President Trump has done what no other US President could do while they were in Office. Is that the crime he has committed? Is that the annoyance of the CNN and its reporters, to have made them embark on this mission of attack on the US President? Or are they allegedly being sponsored by the enemies of democracy? Can’t the CNN reporters be polite and professional in their media work, particularly when reporting news about President Trump? Must they be aggressive and ‘openly disrespectful to President Trump’ in their daily reporting? CNN is just too partial and bias with their reports on President Trump, and people are already finding it difficult to believe some of their stories/reports? They seriously need to retrain their staff on how to report, and stop this their aggressiveness while reporting news on President Trump. Must they be rude, disrespectful and aggressive in their reporting before the public will believe CNN stories? They are only indirectly telling viewers that the CNN could be used as a ‘media tool’ by enemies of democracy to attack political leaders. How would President Trump like them with their attacking-style of aggressive and rude reporting on his person and character?
In Africa we are known to respect elders, whether you like them or not. We cannot have such rubbish being displayed in the public and on national television in Africa, like we saw with the CNN reporters against Trump during his recent Press Statement after the US mid-term elections. President Trump is old enough to be some of the CNN reporters’ father or grandfather. Do they not respect their parents and grandparents? Freedom of expression or Press freedom should not give room or amount to being rude, disrespectful and aggressive to elders. If the occupant of the US President, which is Trump, is not respected and given the honour due to him, then it means the entire US should not be respected by others. When the CNN, as a leading global network, is seen disrespectful, rude and always critical of its US President, then they are also telling the world to disrespect and become rude and critical of the US as a whole and its citizens.
Recently, I carefully listened to CNN’s Amanpour interview of Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO JP Morgan Chase, and his response on Trump’s success story on the US economy, which obviously came unexpected and as a surprise to the CNN media crew. Jamie Dimon told Amanpour of CNN that Trump is truthful and doing very good on the US economy. Jamie Dimon is an American Business Executive, who is the CEO of JP Morgan Chase, the largest of the big four American banks, and he previously served on the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. They must have interviewed Jamie Dimon out of mistake; thinking he would attack Trump because that has been their tactics – to invite personalities for interview/discussion whom they know are seen to be anti-Trump and his policies on the US. And even when they invite personalities that want to be neutral and not say anything negative about the Trump’s Presidency, the CNN anchors would often ask questions that would direct the interview in a certain direction to make Trump and his policies on US economy look bad. I saw this in a recent episode of CNN’s GPS With Fareed Zakaria Special interview with French President, Emmanuel Macron. And another CNN interview with the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau. In each of these interviews, the political leaders stated, spoke fairly well of President Trump in a diplomatic manner, even when it was obvious that the CNN Anchors concerned wanted them to talk and say something bad/negative about President Trump. Such an anti-trump campaign by the CNN is simply irritating.
The evident division, hostility, negativity and hate-speech within and amongst the US citizenry, which the CNN is accusing President Trump of fueling, is actually instigated/caused and propelled/promoted by the obvious ‘negative news/stories’ about Trump by the CNN and its reporters and broadcasts. Though, it is obvious that there have been unresolved deep-seated issues amongst the different races, religion and political affiliations in the US as a whole, but the CNN, as a leading global media network, has been the one causing all the “divisions between Democrats and Republicans”, and they are showing it obviously with their negative broadcasts on Trump, Trump and Trump.
From my personal perspective, I have observed President Trump to be someone that is ‘truthfully blunt’ on issues affecting the US, as well as international issues, rather than bending and painting such issues with different colours – like we see with most typical politicians. In my own opinion, President Trump is an American who is courageous, bold, smart, intelligent, truthful and patriotic as a political leader, who is also not scarred to speak his mind on issues. We do not see Trump as the problem in the US. Rather, we see the CNN as the real problem of America that is causing divisions Amongst Americans with their negative stories on President Trump. The CNN has been on this so-called investigation of Trump since he came into Office as US President. One begins to wonder if the US House congress will use all their strengths to fight this so-called war of Trump investigation, and abandon their constitutional roles on other pressing issues in the US? As if the US House Congress Representatives were elected to target only one man called Trump. The story of President Trump’s investigation is becoming boring because of the way the CNN has been repeating it on a daily basis. The question is, don’t the CNN have other news other than President Trump and everything that concerns him?
We advise the CNN relevant authorities to make the necessary “adjustments” in its reporting and analysis of news concerning President Donald Trump and the US Government as a global leader.
Zik Gbemre.
National Coordinator
Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC)
