Now, while a similar speech by Trotsky would have resulted in Stalin sending him to the gulag or killing him (which he eventually ordered), President Trump will do no such thing. This is one of the reasons why this comparison is a farce. Additionally, it is a historically flawed comparison. Stalin was speaking out against the press because they told the truth. Stalin enforced penalties this which frequently led to death. Stalin frequently killed those who embarrassed him or criticized him. All of the Soviet Union’s media went through Stalin. The state controlled the news in the Soviet Union and Stalin controlled the state – with an iron fist.
Trump speaks out against the press which promotes unsubstantiated and factually incorrect stories and agenda driven negative coverage. The stiffest penalty imposed by Trump is not being invited to dinner and a firmly worded tweet. It’s intellectually dishonest and disingenuous to compare the two.
Furthermore, advocating for a free press is one thing. However, having said free press print politically motivated lies without any accountability is another. As a United States Senator, whether Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, Jeff Flake should advocate a free press that reports the truth to its citizens and not politically motivated propaganda that would be comparable to the content in Pravda. Condemning President Trump’s efforts to hold the United States press accountable for their content is a Trotskyite maneuver if there ever was one.
