Donald Trump has long had a contentious relationship with the press. He cannot stand to be criticized, and any publication that dares to do so risks his ire. He banned a long list of publications from his campaign rallies, and now that he has been elected, he continues to attack the Fourth Estate. Trump s latest target is Vanity Fair, and the reason could not be more petty.Apparently, one of the magazine s writers, Tina Nguyen, wrote a scathing article criticizing the quality of Trump Grill, which is an eatery in Trump Tower. Nguyen says of the place: The allure of Trump s restaurant, like the candidate, is that it seems like a cheap version of rich. Nguyen also goes on to say that Trump Grill s quality  reveals everything you need to know about our next president. Of course, one of the things that sticks in Trump s craw the most is anyone questioning his wealth, or his status among the elite. There are many people who believe that Trump is not a billionaire at all, and that if only he would release his tax returns, we d see a man who knows nothing of finances and money, who is a tax cheat, as well as a cheapskate who donates nothing to charitable causes like most truly wealthy people do.The article provoked a thinly veiled threat against Vanity Fair, as Trump insisted the magazine was in  big trouble :Has anyone looked at the really poor numbers of @VanityFair Magazine. Way down, big trouble, dead! Graydon Carter, no talent, will be out!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 15, 2016Of course, the mention of editor Graydon Carter is telling as well, as to Trump s ability to hold long and enduring grudges. Carter is, after all, the one who dubbed Trump the  short-fingered vulgarian,  and it is a moniker that is appropriate and has stuck. That s why the GOP primaries devolved into dirty jokes regarding hand sizes. Of course, this speaks to Trump s insecurity about his own masculinity, which is something else that Trump cannot stand to have challenged.All in all, this is part of a much deeper and more troubling pattern, though. Trump is directly attacking the First Amendment, and it does not bode well to have a president who is so hostile to the press. He has already done a remarkable job of making his supporters blindly believe that the press hates them, that they are out to get them and their chosen king. Now, Trump s direct attacks on the press and specific publications means that he will likely use the bully pulpit of the White House to do the same for the next four years.This is how autocracies start, folks. Look for Trump to try to set up some kind of state-funded propaganda network, similar to what they have in Russia, to drive the message he wants and to shut out all other voices. This will likely start in the form of Breitbart News, which will then morph into some kind of television network on behalf of the Trump Administration.These are scary times, folks. Remember   we must resist. We can no longer count on the institutions we ve long taken for granted to prevent the slow formation of a dictatorship. In fact, if you look closely, it s already happening.Featured image via Drew Angerer/Getty Images