(cache) Trump is deranged but 42 percent of Republicans say 'freedom of the press' is out of control

Kerry Eleveld

Trump is deranged but 42 percent of Republicans say 'freedom of the press' is out of control

By Kerry Eleveld

Monday Jul 03, 2017 · 11:05 AM PDT

2017/07/03 · 11:05

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 19: President Donald Trump acknowledges the media as he walks to the residence after disembarking from Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on March 19, 2017 in Washington, DC. President Trump is returning from a weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Pete Marovich-Pool/Getty Images)

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There's no other way to slice it: Donald Trump appears to be decompensating at an alarming rate after engaging in a week of bloodthirsty tweets about an alleged face-lift gone wrong and his own machismo fantasy of delivering a knock-out blow to CNN.

Not surprisingly, a much covered NPR/PBS/Marist poll released Monday found that 70 percent of Americans think the level of civility in Washington has declined since Donald Trump was elected, including 65 percent of Republicans and 81 percent of Democrats. A paltry six percent of respondents say the discourse has improved.

But Republicans also view press freedoms and the citizens' right to criticize the government as a major problem, suggesting that's part of why they think overall civility is deteriorating.

When asked if the nation has "gone too far" in expanding the freedom of the press, 42 percent of Republicans agreed, with just 9 percent saying press freedoms were being restricted too much; in contrast, just 11 percent of Democrats believe freedom of the press is too expansive, while 32 percent say press freedoms are too restricted.

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Republicans also aren't so keen of the right of Americans to criticize or protest their government, with 41 percent saying the right has been expanded too much, while 31 percent of Democrats counter that it's too restricted.

Since the beginning of this month in which we celebrate the birth of our nation, Trump has launched 20 tweets and at least nine of them have taken a direct shot at the "FAKE & FRAUDULENT NEWS MEDIA." He fantasizes of a world in which journalists will one day be "forced" to cover all the GREAT things that he also fantasizes are happening in his administration, in other words all the news that the Don thinks is fit to print. #MAGA

At some point the Fake News will be forced to discuss our great jobs numbers, strong economy, success with ISIS, the border & so much else!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 3, 2017

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