Donald Trump Wants To 'Open Up' Libel Laws So He Can Sue News Outlets

I thought Republicans were always against frivolous lawsuits. At least they used to be.

Donald Trump Wants To 'Open Up' Libel Laws So He Can Sue News Outlets : NPR

"Donald Trump says he wants to open up libel laws, and he says should be allowed to sue news outlets that publish stories he deems are wrong. But libel laws are well established in the U.S. and have been upheld by liberal and conservative justices".

"TRUMP: It's so unfair. I have stories, and I have - you have no recourse. You have no recourse whatsoever because the laws are really impotent".

"NAYLOR: But Trump has taken a different tack in the past. Just ask Timothy O'Brien. In 2005, he wrote "TrumpNation: The Art Of Being The Donald," which, among other things, raised questions about Trump's claims of vast wealth. Trump promptly sued O'Brien".

"O'BRIEN: And I think it was - it is the largest libel lawsuit in U.S. history. He sued me for $5 billion".

"NAYLOR: The lawsuit was dismissed, as was an earlier libel suit Trump filed against the Chicago Tribune and its architecture critic. O'Brien, now executive editor with Bloomberg View, says he was fortunate in that his publishers paid his legal bills".

 

I couldn't possibly agree more.

 

Trump is not a Republican. Or a conservative. He's a liberal Democrat who made a calculated decision to run as a Republican because he believed it to be the most expedient route to the White House.

 

True that. It's hard to pin down what the man really stands for. His entire campaign has been centered on mean tweets, third grade insults, and campaign promises that sometimes change from day-to-day or even from hour-to-hour. His real views could range anywhere from liberal to conservative to South American dictator on just about any issue.

 

But he's strong! And he'll make great deals! He'll deport 11 million people, keep all Muslims out, carpet bomb civilians, torture people illegally, give unlawful orders to the military, eliminate trade deficits, bring back millions of jobs from overseas, violate treaties and international law, build an amazing wall along the Mexican border (getting them to pay for it, natch), and we'll all enjoy so much winning our heads will spin!

Of course, he can't articulate word one about how this will be done. But what he lacks in specifics he more than makes up for in misogyny, racism, encouraging violence (even if the perpetrators end up in jail as a result), along with discussions of such Presidential topics as "size," menstruation, and the quality of candidates' (and their wives) looks.

Hail to the Chief! ("I didn't get a 'harrumph' out of that guy!")