THE consequences of Donald Trump’s rants against the media must be clear now to everyone willing to see.

Reporters, despite declaring their credentials, are being openly assaulted by police during the racial unrest that is convulsing America.

Their ill-treatment pales, of course, compared with the wider picture of what is going on there.

But it is a shocking illustration of the hatred this president has fomented against those who report the truth, rather than a version of it that meets his approval.

Attempts to discredit the Press are happening here too.

Some claim our own government sought to undermine legitimate reporting about how Dominic Cummings, the Number 10 adviser, drove to his parents’ home in County Durham during the coronavirus lockdown, and then on another trip to test his eyesight.

Those with a skewed view of the world and anger in their hearts are vulnerable to these messages from national leaders. Some see them as tacit approval for attacking the Press.

We at the Hereford Times have been a target for abuse on social media (and those who encourage it should truly be ashamed of themselves).

And colleague at our sister title, the Worcester News, a young woman in her first job in journalism, just last month wrote candidly of her humiliation at the hands of online trolls.

Journalists are ordinary people doing an important job. We are not beyond criticism, but abuse – of us or anyone else – is never acceptable.