The “enemy of the people” media narrative transformed political discourse by reframing mainstream journalism as an adversarial force working against American citizens rather than serving the public interest.

Narrative Origins

January 2017: Presidential Rhetoric Escalation Shortly after assuming office, President Trump accused the press of being an “enemy of the American people,” marking a dramatic departure from traditional presidential-media relations.

Twitter Campaign Development: 2017-2019 From January 2017 through October 2019, Trump deployed the phrase “enemy of the people” 36 times on Twitter, with usage accelerating in his second year in office to 21 instances.

Core Framing Structure

The narrative structures interpretation through several key frames:

Adversarial Intent: Presents mainstream media as deliberately working against American interests rather than fulfilling journalistic duties.

Deceptive Purpose: Frames news reporting as intentional misinformation designed to mislead the public and advance partisan agendas.

Institutional Corruption: Portrays news organizations as fundamentally corrupt entities that cannot be reformed or trusted.

Public Enemy Status: Elevates media criticism from policy disagreement to existential threat requiring active resistance.

Digital Evolution and Impact

Twitter Amplification: Systematic social media campaign targeting specific outlets including The New York Times, CNN, NBC, MSNBC, and The Washington Post across more than 600 tweets.

Cross-Platform Spread: Rhetoric migrated from Twitter to conservative talk radio, Fox News, and emerging platforms like Truth Social and Telegram.

International Adoption: Authoritarian leaders worldwide adopted similar “fake news” and “enemy” rhetoric to justify media crackdowns in Cambodia, Philippines, and other nations.

Targets and Applications

Mainstream Outlets: Primarily targeted major news organizations with national reach and investigative capabilities.

Individual Journalists: Extended to specific reporters and anchors through direct social media attacks and rally rhetoric.

Critical Coverage: Applied most intensively during periods of negative news coverage or investigative reporting.

Political and Social Impact

Public Opinion Shift: Polling found nearly half of Republicans came to believe “the news media is the enemy of the American people.”

Security Consequences: Documented cases of individuals threatening news organizations while explicitly referencing “enemy of the people” language.

Press Freedom Erosion: Press freedom organizations reported increasing harassment, abuse, and threats against journalists following escalation of the rhetoric.

Democratic Norms: Academic analysis identified the rhetoric as undermining fundamental democratic institutions and press freedom.

Contemporary Usage

The narrative continues to influence information environment through:

• Ongoing social media attacks against mainstream outlets by political figures
• Integration into conservative media criticism of “corporate media” and “legacy media”
• Use by political candidates to dismiss unfavorable coverage
• Adoption by international authoritarian movements as justification for press restrictions
• Evolution into broader “fake news industrial complex” conspiracy theories