“Trump continues his unrelenting attacks on the integrity of American journalists and news outlets. This has provided cover for repressive regimes to follow suit," Sen. John McCain wrote. | Alex Wong/Getty Images McCain denounces president's attacks on the media before Trump's 'fake news awards'

President Donald Trump’s assault on the press, most often through barbed tweets and harsh words, has manifested itself more dangerously around the world, Sen. John McCain wrote in a Washington Post op-ed, granting the legitimacy of the White House to press-stifling efforts worldwide.

“Reporters around the world face intimidation, threats of violence, harassment, persecution and sometimes even death as governments resort to brutal censorship to silence the truth,” McCain (R-Ariz.) wrote in his op-ed, published Tuesday night.

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“Unfortunately, the Trump administration’s attitude toward such behavior has been inconsistent at best and hypocritical at worst,” he continued. “While administration officials often condemn violence against reporters abroad, Trump continues his unrelenting attacks on the integrity of American journalists and news outlets. This has provided cover for repressive regimes to follow suit.”

The Arizona senator cited statistics from the Committee to Protect Journalists that 262 reporters were jailed last year over their work, making 2017 one of the most dangerous years on record for journalists worldwide. McCain noted CPJ’s figure that 21 reporters were imprisoned last year on charges of “fake news,” the phrase coined by Trump to dispute reporting he does not like.

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Trump’s attacks against the press seem likely to escalate Wednesday should the president follow through on his promise to hand out “fake news awards” to “the most corrupt & biased of the mainstream media.” The awards have rallied the president’s base, which generally shares Trump’s view that the media is waging a partisan battle against the administration, but has also fueled criticism, including from Republicans like McCain, of the president’s adversarial treatment of the media.

Citing the legacy of former President Ronald Reagan, McCain wrote that the U.S. leaders have a history of using their place at the center of the world stage to advocate for freedom elsewhere around the globe. Trump, McCain wrote, has seemingly abdicated that position.

“Reagan recognized that as leader of the free world, his words carried enormous weight, and he used them to inspire the unprecedented spread of democracy around the world. President Trump does not seem to understand that his rhetoric and actions reverberate in the same way,” McCain wrote. “Whether Trump knows it or not, these efforts are being closely watched by foreign leaders who are already using his words as cover as they silence and shutter one of the key pillars of democracy.”