Jon Finer

[Commentary] The relationship between the government and the press should be adversarial, as their missions are often at odds. As those seeking to downplay the current confrontation have rightly pointed out, this has resulted in a power struggle between that is as old as the Republic itself. But Trump’s relationship with the media represents something new and potentially dangerous to both. He is the first President to publicly question the place of the media in American society itself And his branding of the press as an "enemy" seems less an attempt to influence coverage than an invitation to repression and even violence. The level of antipathy or collegiality between the government and the press has always moved in cycles of confrontation and detente.

First, his assault on the press seems calculated not to influence coverage, but to destroy the credibility of the media so he can usurp the its traditional role as the arbiter of facts on which policy decisions are based.
Second, Trump chose a phrase ("enemies of the people") replete with ominous historical resonance in other societies as a prelude to violence.
Third, while every one of our previous Presidents may have criticized particular reporters...they never publicly questioned the press as an institution.

[Jon Finer was Chief of Staff to Secretary of State John Kerry and Director of Policy Planning at the State Department]