ELECTION/MEDIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “In an hour and 26 combative minutes on Wednesday [11-7-18], President Donald Trump declared CNN reporter Jim Acosta an ‘enemy of the people,’ said he didn’t much care for NBC reporter Peter Alexander, either, told American Urban Radio Networks correspondent April Ryan to ‘sit down,’ and accused Yamiche Alcindor of ‘PBS NewsHour’ of asking a question that was ‘racist.’ Three times. In case there were any questions over whether Trump would soften his tone after the Democratic takeover of the House on Tuesday [11-6-18], in the news conference he delivered his most strident and personal attacks on the press — a high bar for a president who has declared war on the media from Day One. Trump has often used his fights with journalists to shift the agenda from less favorable subjects — like midterm election losses — and Wednesday’s event was a clear indicator that he was ready to turn the volume on his attack up past 11 to 12 and even higher in the second half of his term. Later Wednesday night, the Trump administration hit those new heights when it suspended Acosta‘s press pass for clearly fabricated reasons. It was a move without precedent in recent memory and one seemingly designed to distract from the president‘s decision earlier in the day to oust Attorney General Jeff Sessions.”
–Jason Schwartz, “Trump shifts spotlight from midterms, escalating attacks on media,” Politico, November 7, 2018 9:34 pm