CBS' Bob Schieffer: Trump's attacks on the media are “undermining the foundations of our democracy”

Schieffer: Trump is trying “to destroy the credibility of the media”

From the October 15 edition of CNN's Reliable Sources:

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BOB SCHIEFFER: I think Facebook, now you have 62, 67 pecent of people saying they get news on Facebook. For some people that is their only source of news. In the beginning, companies like Facebook and Google were saying “look, we're technology companies, we're not responsible for what we're putting put out.” Now they are coming to realize they have to take some responsibility. And they've begun reforms to do that, but we are a long way from resolving this problem. The problem, Brian, the news travels so fast now once it's out there it's almost impossible to take it down. That poor man that owns the pizza parlor here in Washington, where there was supposed to be this porn ring operated by Hillary Clinton. Totally false. The guy's been arrested who came and shot off one of the knobs on the door. But he still has private security that he has to pay for because he's still getting death threats.

BRIAN STELTER (HOST): Wow, I did not know that. All these months later, he still has security. Last question for you Bob, I feel like what we wrestle with almost every week on this program is how seriously to take President Trump's tweets. Especially his tweets about so-called “fake news.” How do you approach it? How much do you care or read into all of the president's words on Twitter? 

SCHIEFFER: Well, I'll tell you. All these attacks on the media -- Look, at my age I've been called everything from a “nattering nabob of negativity” back in the Nixon days to a female hygiene product these days. I don't pay much attention to that kind of stuff. I've been called all kind of names. What I do take seriously is when he tries to destroy the credibility of the media. An independent press that can gather information that people can compare to the government's versions of events. And that is what we do. It is as crucial to our democracy as the right to vote. And when people try to undermine that, I think they are undermining the foundations of our democracy. 

Previously:

The Trump Administration's War On The Press

Jake Tapper: Trump “doesn’t seem to understand that the biggest purveyor of false news, fake news, is him”

Trump calls report that he is considered a “fucking moron” “fake news”