Donald Trump walked away from an assassination attempt. And we are glad. But now he has pumped his fist and yelled, “Fight, fight, fight.” And it’s time to wish him well, but turn attention back to what America is facing if he runs this gauntlet and is re-elected.
Be worried. Revenge is in the air.
“I am your warrior, I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution,” Trump said in March at a conservative group’s rally. My concern — and the fear of those who worry about the fate of democracy — is how that will translate into treatment of the press and freedom of speech. Can the First Amendment hold up to what is coming?
“The LameStream Media will be thoroughly scrutinized for their knowingly dishonest and corrupt coverage,” Trump wrote in a TruthSocial post. “The Fake News Media should pay a big price for what they have done to our once great Country!”
Former Trump National Security Council member Kash Patel laid out the scenario: “We will go out and find the conspirators, not just in government but in the media. We’re going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens — we’re going to come after you. Whether it’s criminally or civilly, we’ll figure that out.”
With those vows of vengeance chilling in my mind, I called Marty Baron, who for eight years and two months — including during the Trump presidency — was executive editor of The Washington Post. Before that, Baron edited The Boston Globe for 11 years, where........