A pair of ABC News hosts discussing the aftermath of the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump during a rally in Butler, Pa., on Saturday sure sounded a lot like they were blaming him for the attack. Bottom line up front: The both of them should lose their jobs and be forever banned from working in journalism.
After the shooting, George Stephanopoulos, a former Clinton advisor turned ABC News host, seemed to imply that the former President Donald Trump was responsible for his own assassination attempt because of his use of “violent rhetoric.” He charged: “President Trump and his supporters have contributed to this violent rhetoric as well” during the latest episode of ABC’s “This Week.”
Veteran ABC reporter Martha Raddatz was in full agreement. “Well, absolutely, George. We were just looking back this morning at some of the things that former President Trump has said. He warned last March of potential death and destruction if he were charged by the Manhattan District Attorney. ‘Our country is being destroyed if they tell us to be peaceful.’ Trump in January warned of bedlam in the country if the criminal charges against him succeeded,” she said.
Raddatz then perpetuated a widely circulated media hoax by falsely alleging that Trump made a “bloodbath” threat if he is not re-elected. This misleading claim is based on a taken-out-of-context clip in which Trump expressed that a Biden re-election would result in a “bloodbath” for the auto industry due to the White House’s electric vehicle mandates. She then blamed the former president’s supporters and referenced the January 6 Capitol protests.
“And you have heard it from supporters as well. And supporters are certainly in some parts angry. And let’s remember January 6th. In so many ways for the campaign, January 6th will probably be in the background after yesterday’s event,” she said. “This is a very difficult time for this campaign. I’m sure this week in Milwaukee that President Trump will highlight this and President Biden is going to have to figure out how to go forward with this campaign and what exactly they say.”
Meanwhile, Raddatz, Stephanopoulos, and the rest of the left-wing media jackals, along with the vast majority of elected Democrats, have alternately referred to Trump as “Hitler,” “worse than Hitler,” “dangerous,” “a threat to democracy,” “a tyrant in waiting,” “an authoritarian,” a “MAGA extremist,” and most recently, a president who would “end democracy if elected.” Throw in repeated bogus charges against the former president and his political opponent, Joe Biden, literally trying to jail him.
With such frequently bombastic, over-the-top, insanely inflammatory language, do these people not bear any responsibility for potentially radicalizing someone to try and assassinate Trump — under the mistaken guise that a future presidency would be the ‘end of America as we know it’? You bet, they do.
But you can also bet that a) none of their media bosses will ever hold them accountable; b) they won’t ever hold themselves accountable; c) they’ll never apologize to Trump and his family; and d) they’re never admit they were wrong.
Let’s be clear: Trump supporters do not attack their opponents. They don’t form gangs like Antifa and BLM with the objective of beating their political opponents into silence. They don’t use violent rhetoric against Democrats. They damn sure don’t lay down on rooftops with a rifle and attempt to exterminate anyone.
As for Raddatz, Stephanopoulos, and the rest, as well as Democratic lawmakers who have used inflammatory language to describe Trump, they are largely responsible for what happened in Butler, Pa., on Saturday. If they had one modicum of integrity, they’d all resign and never darken the halls of Congress or a newsroom again.
Disclaimer: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.