Trump administration must know there can be no ‘alternative facts’

With regard to the immigration restrictions covering people from seven countries of the Middle East and Africa, Trump emphasised in a statement that read, “This is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting.”
As a matter of fact, a large number of Muslims have been refused entry to the country at US airports. What a recent spate of news coverage is criticising is Trump’s exclusionary stance toward the Islamic world. The remarks can be called an example of replacing the real issue with something else, characteristic of Trump.
Fierce confrontation between the Trump administration and the US news media started immediately after the inauguration of his administration.
Claiming that the size of the crowds gathered at his inauguration ceremony was deliberately understated by the media, Trump said: “I have a running war with the media. They are the most dishonest human beings on earth.”
Press Secretary Sean Spicer as well one-sidedly read aloud a statement that said Trump’s inaugural drew the “largest audience” ever, while presenting no objective evidence.

Attack on media extreme
It was patently obvious from a photo of the latest inauguration that the size of the crowds was smaller when compared to one showing the inaugural ceremony held for then President Barack Obama eight years ago. Notwithstanding, a top Trump aide stubbornly argued that the press secretary’s numbers were “alternative facts”.
Did she mean to say that the president’s words, even if they are lies or exaggerations, are facts that are unchangeable?
Trump also asserted emphatically that “3 to 5 million people voted illegally in the presidential election”. Yet there is no concrete evidence. Trump may want to deny the result of the popular vote, in which he fell short of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton by nearly 3 million votes. It is just disgusting.
Attacks on the news media by Steve Bannon, Trump’s senior adviser and chief strategist, are also extreme. Concluding that the major US news media are “the opposition party” because, he said, they had failed to predict Trump’s victory in the presidential election, he bluntly stated: “The media should be embarrassed and humiliated and keep its mouth shut and just listen for a while.” His remarks are a blatant move to control freedom of speech.
The strategy adopted by Trump and Bannon is probably one to convey their messages directly to their supporters, while speaking contemptuously about the media that are critical about the administration or ignoring the media. This is typified by their attaching too much importance to Twitter, with which they can conveniently transmit their claims of legitimacy.
The news media closely examine each policy and measure while listening to experts’ opinions, and comment on them. The media also compile a broad range of public opinion. The Trump administration may need to recognise that in a free society, it is vital for the administration to build a sound relationship with the media in promoting its policies.