Are our First Amendment rights under threat thanks to Donald Trump? Listen to the liberal media‘s narrative and you’ll be led to believe that the answer is yes: if only you dare to defy him. More specifically, we’re supposed to believe that Trump issued a gag order to prevent the EPA from opposing Trump on climate change and other environmental issues, among other agencies.
Just took a look at the headlines:
But what is Trump really doing here? Why is he ordering a media blackout on those departments right after taking office? Because it’s common practice.
As it turns out, those worried about Trump putting a halt on freedom of speech are using theirs to spread false information. And that’s according to those who work in the departments targeted.
Veteran federal employees disagreed. Those who spoke to the New York Times said the Trump administration acted no differently than the Obama administration did when taking over the reins of government in 2009.
Here’s the quote from the NYT:
“I’ve lived through many transitions, and I don’t think this is a story,” an unnamed senior EPA employee told NYT. “I don’t think it’s fair to call it a gag order.”
“This is standard practice,” the employee said. “And the move with regard to the grants, when a new administration comes in, you run things by them before you update the website.”
Another agency Trump supposedly issued a gag order to was the Department of Agriculture. Buzzfeed reported that it effectively put the agency on “lockdown” – but those working for the department are stating that it’s a complete misunderstanding.
Starting immediately and until further notice” the Agricultural Research Service “will not release any public-facing documents,” reads the memo obtained by Buzzfeed. The memo was rescinded Tuesday after a media firestorm.
But Trump never ordered the “lockdown.” In fact, the memo to USDA researches was sent by Agriculture Sec. Tom Vilsack, President Obama’s appointee.
“This memo is not some sort of creative writing exercise,” Michael Young, acting deputy secretary of the Agriculture Department, told NYT. “This is almost exactly what was issued eight years ago. I just updated it a bit.”
H/T The Daily Caller
Nothing President Trump has done in this regard during his transition is anything Barack Obama didn’t do during his. So why didn’t Obama receive the same treatment from the media when he did it? Because he’s a Democrat of course.
Don’t let the mainstream media push another lie – share this post on Facebook and Twitter!
