When a representative of the current administration touted purchase of merchandise sold by the president’s daughter, I thought we had hit a new low, but not a very serious one. But now the voice of the current administration (the press secretary herself) has recommended the firing of a critic of the president and that is serious. Jemele Hill of ESPN (on twitter - not on behalf of her employer or during her broadcast) criticized the president and called him some names. Apparently Sarah Huckabee Sanders and the president have forgotten the “sticks and stones” saying of first grade.
Imagine how many people would be out of work if they had dared to do what Ms. Hill has done. Criticizing Donald Trump is a cottage industry with immense justification. Some have suggested that truth alone justifies her statements. Who can argue with : “Trump is the most ignorant, offensive president of my lifetime.” Whether or not he is a “white supremacist” or “his rise is a direct result of white supremacy” can be the subject of debate, but the accuracy of the criticism is not what is at stake here.
For the President of the United states to suggest that someone who has criticized him or called him an unwelcome name should be fired should chill us all, and I suspect that is the purpose. It is impossible to label this as the most outrageous abuse of power by this president, because there is too much competition, but suggesting that a private employer should discharge a private citizen for remarks made (not in the course of her employment) has to rank right up there with the worst.