Editorial cartoonist off base in portrayal of Trump editorial onslaught

The Chip Bok cartoon that appeared in the Aug. 23 Review-Journal suggests that 300 newspapers were “colluding” when they concurrently published editorials that were critical of Donald Trump’s press criticism. The cartoon reveals Mr. Bok’s misunderstanding of what it means to “collude.”

References in the venerable “Black’s Law Dictionary” define “collusion” as “a secret combination, conspiracy, or concert of action between two or more persons for a fraudulent or deceitful purpose.” In other words, two or more persons have secretly agreed to engage in conduct that they know is dishonest.

Obviously, an agreement among the 300 newspapers to concurrently publish editorials critical of Mr. Trump does not meet the basic definition of “collusion,” because the agreement by the newspapers was never intended to be secret. Nor does writing editorials constitute “a fraudulent or deceitful purpose.”

Indeed, and as Mr. Bok should know, writing editorials is protected by the First Amendment, which is the same amendment that allows him to publish his cartoons.