Shep Smith: Journalists are not the enemy of the people

Fox News chief news anchor Shepard Smith pushed back on escalating tensions between the news media and the Trump White House, declaring that "journalists are not the enemies of the people." "For those of you at home, if I may, journalists are not the enemies of the people. It's quite the opposite," Smith said. "Our profession is enshrined in the Constitution and the fourth estate holds the essential job of being your eyes and often ears and, when appropriate, your voice. It's a cornerstone of our republic." "Over 22 years at this network, it's been my experience that the journalists of Fox News and Fox Business and those of our colleagues at competitors at CNN and MSNBC, NBC, ABC and CBS, Bloomberg and PBS, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, The Washington Post – all of them operate in the public interests," he continued. "We work to discern what is truth. Then to present it to you in context and with perspective. As your representatives in the people's halls, report to you without fear or favor while striving to hold those in power to the same standards. This is the foundation of what we do," the 54-year-old anchor concluded.