Morning Joe Criticizes Bush for Not Opposing Trump, Frets Over Free Speech– www.newsbusters.org

On Monday’s Morning Joe, the show promoted a recent New York Times piece that fretted over Freedom of Speech in President Trump’s second term. Host Jonathan Lemire described it as “Trump’s attempts to stifle freedom of speech and of the press,” which he called “deeply worrisome.” Lemire and book author and former Slate editor Jacob Weisberg later complained that former Republican President George W. Bush had not become an anti-Trump activist like former Representative Liz Cheney.

Lemire began, “The New York Times is out with a comprehensive new analysis about President Trump’s attempts to stifle the freedom of speech and of the press during his second term. Doing so by deploying federal agencies, executive orders, and personal lawsuits against journalists, media corporations, and critics.”

He then read through much of the piece, which included an excerpt saying America’s press freedom was “just below Botswana,” before he opined, “We could add to that the Pentagon has thrown out reporters from the building there. The White House hijacked the press corps and the pool in the building. The assaults go on and on. Deeply worrisome.”

Monday’s Morning Joe echoed a New York Times piece that feared for Freedom of Speech during Trump’s Second Term, which Jonathan Lemire introduced as a “comprehensive new analysis about President Trump’s attempts to stifle the Freedom of Speech and of the press during his second… pic.twitter.com/154DR6OyMO