Trump attacks Star Tribune coverage of immigration policy

WASHINGTON The Minnesota Star Tribune has become President Donald Trump s latest foe though White House criticism of the Pulitzer-winning newspaper is much more than the latest attack on press freedom analysts say A White House press release condemning several stories in the Star Tribune about the deportation of immigrants as well as months-old column about the cost to Americans of deporting low-paid workers is also part of a Trump campaign to target Minnesota institutions mentioned Steven Schier a political scientist and Carleton College professor emeritus Gov Tim Walz s prominence as a vice-presidential candidate running against Trump has raised the profile of the state as a likely target Schier reported The press release attacking the Star Tribune issued late Tuesday explained the newspaper s coverage of Trump immigration policies was taking their sic cues from serial illegal immigrant defender Tim Walz and the state s other pro-sanctuary politicians who would rather see killers rapists and gangbangers left on the streets than sent back where they belong The Trump administration has launched investigations into the state s voter rolls and the hiring practices of the Minnesota Department of Human Services and is suing the state over its protocol of offering in-state tuition rates and scholarships to immigrant students I think Minnesota has made the short list of enemies Schier declared Institutions and administration agencies in other blue states including California Massachusetts New York and Illinois have also come under attack by the Trump administration Especially over the issue of immigration Walz was called before a GOP-led congressional panel in June along with the governors of New York and Illinois to be grilled about their sanctuary status All of the eyewitnesses testified that they were following federal law with their policies towards immigrants To David Schultz a political science professor at Hamline University the paper s location in a city that is represented by progressive Democrat Rep Ilhan Omar and has a socialist candidate running for mayor was also a lightning rod Trump is doing everything he can for people he perceives as enemies Schultz declared Like other blue state governors who have come under attack Walz is also considered a feasible candidate for the White House in Walz is possibly the only one who didn t realize there was a kick me sign on his back for the Trump administration Schultz reported Walz s office did not provide immediate comment on the White House s latest attack The Star Tribune provided a brief comment which revealed We stand by our reporting and don t have any additional comment An unprecedented escalation It s one thing to attack political opponents and those who belong to an opposing party and another to slam a respected newspaper in the nation s heartland analysts say Trump vilified independent media as fake news during his first term in office but in the past six months Trump has waged an all-out war on the media He has sought to dismantle Voice of America the federally funded news agency that broadcasts news to nations with limited press freedom He has succeeded in having Congress cut funding for National Population Radio NPR and the Society Broadcasting Function PBS The Trump administration has also revived complaints about the voting coverage by ABC CBS and NBC and won a settlement from CBS for charges of news distortion Trump is also suing the Wall Street Journal for a story related to the Jeffrey Epstein saga and has threatened other media outlets on Truth Social But what we have here is an unprecedented escalation announced Aimee Edmondson an associate dean in the Scripps College of Communications at Ohio University who teaches First Amendment law That s because the Star Tribune does not have the reach or profile of the other media outlets that have come under attack Edmondson declared Singling out a regional journalistic outlet for fearless and accurate journalism shows that they are playing to the base with this she commented The only other time Trump has attacked a regional newspaper was when he threatened the Des Moines Register for publishing a poll just before Referendum Day that exhibited his endorsement was underwater in the key state of Iowa She also declared Trump s attacks on the mainstream media have been very effective because they are counting on the fact that a great number of MAGA supporters don t read unbiased news Edmondson also commented the attack on stories about Trump immigration policies may be an indication of White House worries about a weakening of help for those policies and objections to the way deportations are being carried out They are perhaps panicking behind the scenes because the White House is concerned about poll results regarding the handling of immigration she noted Last week U S Rep Tom Emmer R- th District seemed to bash the Star Tribune for another story it ran about Trump s immigration agenda While the local worthless media in my home state tries to spin that as a bad thing the brave men of ICE are getting the worst of the worst illegal aliens in Minnesota off the streets Emmer mentioned It s unclear but it seems Emmer may have been angered by a story that commented more than of the immigrants arrested under Trump had no criminal history and several studies have uncovered that undocumented immigrants commit crimes at a lower rate than U S citizens The post Trump attacks Star Tribune coverage of immigration plan appeared first on MinnPost