Politics

Paul Krugman Makes A Prediction: Journalists Will Be Imprisoned Or Trump Ends Up In Jail

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Economist and New York Times op-ed columnist Paul Krugman suggested Friday evening that either “thousands of journalists” will be imprisoned because of the administration or President Donald Trump will end up in jail.

A formal impeachment inquiry was launched Tuesday after news that Trump had asked Ukrainian officials to look into Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter regarding business dealings in the country. The transcript of this phone call was held in a special computer system for sensitive calls, according to the NYT.

The White House restricted access to other phone calls between Trump and foreign leaders, CNN reported Friday evening. Following this news, Krugman tweeted that there seemed to be “two possible outcomes.”

“Trump and a number of others end up in jail, or thousands of journalists end up in prison camps,” Krugman, a Nobel Prize winner, suggested.

Starting to look like two possible outcomes: Trump and a number of others end up in jail, or thousands of journalists end up in prison camps https://t.co/I9DpBQFwtm

— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) September 27, 2019

Krugman did not follow up his tweet with reasons as to how “thousands of journalists” would become imprisoned if Trump doesn’t spend time behind bars.

Turkey, China and Egypt are responsible for more than half of all jailed journalists, a 2018 Forbes article reported. The report is based on data collected from the Committee to Protect Journalists, which noted that zero journalists were jailed in the U.S.

Trump spoke on the phone to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Arabian Prince Mohammad Bin Salman Al Saud, CNN host Erin Burnett said Friday on “Erin Burnett OutFront.”

“We have learned of more Trump phone calls that the White House tried to keep secret,” she said. “CNN learning this hour the White House also tried to limit access to President Trump’s conversations with two controversial dictators.”

She added that this news could back up the whistleblower’s complaint, which was released to the public Thursday and alleged that presidential transcripts were placed more than once into a “codeword-level system.”

Krugman wrote an opinion piece Thursday titled “Impeaching Trump Is Good for the Economy.” He suggested impeachment “will slow down the administration’s war on competence,” adding that “the Nixon administration was a paragon of good government” compared to the Trump administration.