Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, the U.N.'s outgoing human rights commissioner | Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images Trump attacks on press near ‘incitement to violence,’ says UN human rights chief US president’s anti-media rhetoric risks inspiring authoritarian leaders, says Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein.

U.S. President Donald Trump's vocal disdain for the media borders on criminal speech, according to the U.N.'s outgoing human rights commissioner.

"It's getting very close to incitement to violence," Jordanian royal and diplomat, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, who will be stepping down this month, said in an interview with the Guardian published Monday.

“We began to see a campaign against the media … that could have potentially, and still can, set in motion a chain of events which could quite easily lead to harm being inflicted on journalists just going about their work and potentially some self-censorship,” he warned.

The diplomat specifically noted Trump's proclivity for the label "the enemy of the people" when discussing the press — Trump has said those remarks apply to a "large percentage" of the media — and compared Trump's statements to rhetoric heard in the run-up to the 20th century's two world wars.

Zeid also suggested that Trump could be setting a precedent for other leaders, such as Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who have actively shut down press outlets.

“The U.S. creates a demonstration effect, which then is picked up by other countries where the leadership tends to to be more authoritarian [in] character or aspires to be authoritarian,” he said.

Whether Trump could be guilty for inciting violence toward journalists would be up to a court to determine, after considering the particulars of a given case, said Zeid.

Zeid, who has served as the U.N.'s human rights chief since 2014, chose not to seek a second term. Previously, he represented Jordan as its permanent representative to the U.N.