The editorial entitled “War of the Words Reaches New Depths” that appeared in the Feb. 24, 2017 edition of The Coeur d’Alene Press (hereinafter The Press) missed the mark and was most concerning in my opinion. While many objections could be raised concerning the editorial, my chief objections boil down to four points.

First, saying the American the U.S. press as a whole went to DEFCON 1 as the result of President Trump’s tweet saying the media was “the enemy of the people” was merely rhetoric and hyperbole.

While the term used in Mr. Trump’s tweet “enemy of the people” might be considered by some to be marginally Leninist in context and a phrase I would not have used, it does not correctly describe what he was trying to say as I see it. In the way of a clarification from my perspective, “enemy of the people” as used by Mr. Trump in his now famous (or infamous depending on one’s point of view) tweet was referring not to the U.S. press/media as a whole. It was aimed at specific media/mainstream press organizations which are biased and often do not accurately report the news as it relates to the new Administration. I can tick off at least five examples of media organizations that do not produce truthful stories concerning the Administration; but, then, that is a story for another day.

Further, and in my opinion, Mr. Trump’s comments were not aimed at the newspaper staffs who work hard on newspapers throughout this country. Those who “produce maps, people who cover high school baseball, those who tweet about the [Dallas] Cowboys, prepare book reviews, assign book reviews, critique restaurants, etc.” as cited in your editorial. To imply otherwise is just utterly disingenuous.

Second, as a 10-year Navy combat veteran, including Vietnam (both in the Brown Water Navy and the Blue Water Navy), I know the seriousness of the term DEFCON. To use this term haphazardly to describe President Trump’s dust up with the press is and overreach and, at best, is overly dramatic. It as poor a selection of terms/words as is the phase “enemy of the people.”

Third, the mainstream press “carried the water” for President Obama for the full eight years of his presidency. Mr. Obama often criticized the press/media with which he disagreed. Where was the “critical” mainstream media/press then? Yes, the silence is deafening, isn’t it?

Fourth, and finally, Idaho is a “red” state, one of the states that elected Donald Trump president. Editorials such as that of 24 February 2017 in The Press are better suited for newspapers in “blue” states (e.g. Massachusetts, New York, California, Oregon, Washington, etc.).

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Stephen R. Thatcher is a Coeur d’Alene resident.