I suppose it should not be a surprise, but Trump's attacks on the media have gone over the top.
His attacks on the media and on individual reporters at a news conference earlier this week emphasize how unfit he is to be President. 
Calling a reporter a ‘sleazebag’ because he pressed the candidate on his donations to veterans groups takes him to a new low.. if that's possible. The media are doing their job when they ask tough questions and continue to hammer when all they get are non-answers or tangential responses aimed at distracting from the initial line of questioning. They do it to all the candidates and others who are in office.
When asked by a reporter if this is how he would behave if he made it to the White House, he said yes. Earlier in his campaign, he said as President, he’d sue reporters and media who don’t report “fairly,” leaving the definition of “fair” to his own discretion.
Major Garrett, who reports for CBS News, said on CBS This Morning that for reporters who have been covering his campaign, this behavior is not a surprise. It's fairly normal for this candidate, he said.
This candidate is hardly the only politician who lashes out at the media when reporting doesn’t go exactly as they would want it. Sarah Palin, the candidate’s partner in grime and also a name-caller, refers to the media as the “lamestream media.”
This behavior in the White House would be totally unacceptable and against the idea of a fairly transparent government. I'm not saying every President, including our current one, has never blurred the truth or evaded some lines of questioning. But civility in government is crucial to maintaining dialogue that can lead to resolution of conflict and building of trust among leaders and the citizenry. Imagine name-calling and nastiness on the floor of the Senate and the House. We know some of them can’t stand each other, but they remain civil and engage in discussion which, before obstructionism, would lead to compromise and things getting done.
The presumptive Republican nominee demonstrates none of that civility. His thin skin causes him to attack -- often childishly -- anyone he feels has treated him ‘unfairly.’ As President – heaven forbid – would he spend precious time and attention on name-calling reporters who report the truth as they see it, or who ask the probing questions they are supposed to if they are doing their jobs?
As President, it seems like he’d ignore the Constitution’s very first Amendment – the one guaranteeing Freedom of the Press. That seems to be in step with his calls for action that would ignore other amendments like Freedom of Religion as well as Civil Rights laws passed 40 and 50 years ago.
I know the media will continue, as they should, asking tough questions and probing… not only of Trump, but of Clinton, Sanders and others in offices high and low.
Right from the early days of this nation, our founding fathers recognized the importance of a free press as a way to inform the public about what our elected leaders – people we pay with our tax dollars – are doing on our behalf. That’s the role of the media, even if some candidates don’t like it.