Trump's attacks on the media are dictatorial, Republican and Democratic critics charge

President Trump's tweet declaring the media an "enemy of the people" — and his antagonism to the press more broadly — are characteristic of a would-be dictator, Republican Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff (Calif.) independently charged in interviews airing this weekend.

McCain's allegation came first in a Saturday conversation with NBC's Chuck Todd on Meet the Press. "The fact is we need you, we need a free press. It's vital," McCain said. "That's how dictators get started," he continued a few moments later. "They get started by suppressing free press, in other words, a consolidation of power. I am not saying that President Trump is trying to be a dictator. I am just saying we need to learn the lessons of history."

Schiff appeared on ABC's This Week in an interview scheduled to air Sunday. "This is something that you hear tin-pot dictators say when they want to control all of the information," he said of Trump's media tweet. "It's not something you have ever heard a president of the United States say." Watch an excerpt of each man's remarks below. Bonnie Kristian

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