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Backroom Briefing: Enemies of the people? Maybe not
By DARA KAM AND JIM SAUNDERS
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, February 23, 2017......... President Donald Trump created a firestorm Friday when, in a tweet, he branded the news media "the enemy of the American people."
Asked this week about Trump's comment, Florida Republican leaders rejected his characterization about the press but empathized with the president's plight.
"A free press is an indispensable part of a democratic system. We do want the press to be accurate and to be fair, but we need to have a free press," Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, said.
State Rep. Chris Sprowls, a Palm Harbor Republican slated to become House speaker in 2020, gave an emphatic "no" when asked if he considers the press to be the people's enemy.
"I don't. I think it's hyperbolic," Sprowls, a former prosecutor, said. "That's a common thing in our political system, hyperbole. I don't subscribe to it and I don't conduct myself like that. Do I think that there are times where, whether it's politicians or the press, get off course and say things they shouldn't say or couch things in a way they shouldn't? Absolutely."
A free press is "a cornerstone of a healthy, functioning democracy," Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, said.
When asked if the president was fomenting distrust of the media by labeling it the "enemy," most of the GOP lawmakers acted as Trump's interpreter.
"When I hear President Trump talk and use the language that he uses, what I hear is a complaint about some of the inherent biases, that are fairly well-documented, in the national press and how they treat conservatives versus liberals,” Bradley said. "I wouldn't choose the words that he uses, because that's just not how I speak. But I don't take him as literally as, perhaps, some others take him."
Negron also translated for Trump.
"I think what he is saying is that the media frequently has their own agenda and doesn't always get their facts right, and that's accurate, but having a free press is a hallmark of a democratic system," the Senate president said.
Senate Appropriations Chairman Jack Latvala guffawed when asked if the press was the enemy of the people, saying he did not share the president's position on the issue.
But Latvala, R-Clearwater, also indicated that some news outlets don't appear to be giving Trump a fair shake.
"I think there are some in the media who are going out of their way to make our new president's life miserable. I do agree with that. They accentuate the negative. I think everyone gets a honeymoon. Throughout my 44 years in this process, everybody gets a honeymoon, except him," Latvala said.
Trump may not like it, but he's undergoing the same scrutiny other elected officials --- at all levels --- have endured throughout history.
"I think an independent and free press has been a central part of this American experience," Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, said. "It has always been a challenge for legislators and leaders to deal with the press, historically. This is no different at that. I think at the end of the day, it's just at a different volume."
Trump's not alone in his distrust of the press.
A Gallup poll last fall found that the nation's trust of the media had sunk to an all-time low, with just 32 percent of Americans saying they had "a great deal" or "fair amount" of trust and confidence in the press to report the news fairly and accurately.
House Speaker Richard Corcoran said he was unaware of Trump's tweet, but blamed the media for not being truthful.
"I think what he's saying is that the truth matters. And there are incidences where the press has engaged in not telling the truth or being overtly misleading. That's got to get fixed. And it's got to be fixed for your industry, because otherwise you'll cease to exist. I mean, the public's current level of trust of the media is at an all-time low," Corcoran, R-Land O' Lakes, said. "That's terrible. You've got to get it fixed."
TACKLING MEDICAID BLOCK GRANTS
With Trump in the White House, Florida Republican leaders are eager to see him carry out a campaign promise to move to block grants in the Medicaid program.
The idea in a nutshell: The federal government would provide huge chunks of Medicaid money to the states, which then would have flexibility in deciding how to run their Medicaid programs.
The state House got a visit Wednesday from newly elected Congressman Matt Gaetz, a former member of the House who touted the block-grant idea.
"The best thing we can do to facilitate more innovative solutions and better outcomes for Floridians and Americans all across the country is to devolve more authority and more resources to state governments," Gaetz, who was elected in November in a Northwest Florida congressional district.
Critics of the block-grant idea, however, warn that it would ultimately lead to less Medicaid money flowing to Florida.
But Corcoran is already pitching the possibility of using greater flexibility to create a voucher-type system in Medicaid.
"Give that patient that money and allow a free market to create itself around that and people to compete for those dollars," Corcoran said. "Yes, you would have greater access."
TWEET OF THE WEEK: "Coming soon …" --- House Speaker Richard Corcoran (@richardcorcoran), responding to another tweet suggesting that lawmakers raise the homestead exemption.