If you don’t watch Sunday morning news/talk shows, you’re a smart American (and I join you in giving that hobby a hard pass), but there are a lot of people who do watch, and listen. And if you’ve checked media sites today, you’ll know this morning was loaded with people saying Trump created the environment that resulted in murder, or encouraged the thoughts that led to murder, or “fomented” murder or instigated it or created the climate for it or birthed the “atmosphere” for it … all while also loudly protesting that “nobody said Trump is responsible.” And that includes people who literally used the word “responsible.”
ABC’s chief fake journalist George Clintonopoulos was no exception, along with his panel, on this week’s This Week. Luckily for Americans doomed or duped into watching, National Review executive editor Reihan Salam was in the house to smack back.
This video is really something. Watch and study it, I say. Especially you smart ones like me who don’t normally watch these abysmal shows.
Here’s a transcript from Newsbusters.
(…)
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: How surprised should we be? This is at least the fourth mass killing in America using an AR-15 since the Las Vegas massacre just over a year ago, the third mass shooting in a house of worship in the last three years. Across social media hate speech and anti-Semitism are rampant and on the rise. All against the backdrop of the ugliest political climate in modern times. At the center, an unapologetically incendiary President untrammeled by traditional norms of civility.
(…)
MATTHEW DOWD: I think much of it has been predictable in this. And for the times we’re in and where we are today, I’ll quote the philosopher Yoda which says the path to the dark side is fear, “fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate leads to suffering.” And I think we’re at a moment we have to speak compassionately, clearly, and calmly in the time we’re in. I think our leaders and I would put specific responsibility on the President, he has an obligation to try to rid us of much of this tribalism. And I think what he has done over the course of the last few years is help foment this. He’s not responsible for what happened in Pittsburgh.
(…)
TOM BOSSERT: Well, I’m saddened to hear it all. To be honest, even this morning, on the lead into this was the focus on the President’s comments as he walked out to helicopter instead of focused on the quote I was hoping to see in which he condemns anti-Semitism and violence in this country. And so, it’s a hard time to claim he’s got a big megaphone.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Wait a second. That was his first response. That was his instinctive response to what happened. What he then said in the speech is what was scripted for him.
BOSSERT: I don’t believe that’s accurate. First of all, he has control over what is scripted in those speeches.
STEPHANOPOULOS: You’re saying that wasn’t accurate, that was his first response.
BOSSERT: No, because it wasn’t his first response. It was on his way out a response to a question thrown to him about gun control. So, the question was already political and the reporters in the gaggle were saying, what are your thoughts on gun control in response to this issue. His actual response to the American people was that we have no tolerance for violent in this country or anti-Semitism.
(…)
DOWD: This is not a both sides moment. And I think anybody that acts like this is a both sides moment, the president has a special responsibility at times like this. I think the country out there, as a whole, is not as tribalized as Washington is, doesn’t view politics the same as the President does, doesn’t access those levels of hate and discourse that he does.
But the President has a special responsibility. I’m not Michael Angelo but I can paint by number. When you string together the President’s actions and you string together the President’s words and you string together all those things he’s done, let’s not forget that what happened in Pittsburgh was because — this man was radicalized because of the language of the Hebrew immigrant aid society. He was mad that refugees and immigrants were given whatever he considered special privileges in the course of this.
STEPHANOPOULOS: He referenced the caravan.
DOWD: Let’s not forget, within this week the President proudly claimed himself a nationalist and proudly castigates the immigrants, the struggling families, the refuges that are walking miles and miles. And as he does that—not all Americans, most Americans are good people and all of that– the President, in my view, has to come to terms with this and his own responsibility and where we are as a country today.
SALAM: Briefly, just Matt, there is so much to agree with in what you said, but we should not lose sight of the fact that this awful villain is someone who accused the President of being part of a Jewish conspiracy. He is someone who sees the President as a globalist who is seeking to destroy the country. This is someone who is a noxious poisonous person who believed ideas that unfortunately did not begin with one president or another. Anti-Semitism is a pervasive dangerous threat in nations around the world.
[Crosstalk]
(…)
BOSSERT: We need a change. The President is calling for it. People distrust the President, we’re not going to get change. That’s where we are. That doesn’t mean we can hang a mass murder around his neck. So, I want the rhetoric to be calm but I don’t think the American viewers are looking at President Trump as a murderer.
[Crosstalk]
STEPHANOPOULOS (While slamming finger on the desk): Not one person at this table said that! Not one person!
BOSSERT: He’s responsible for the rhetoric that led to the murder.
DOWD: This is what I said Tom and I’ll repeat it again. He’s responsible for fermenting and using rhetoric that causes people to feel like that it is normalized. Now, I’m not saying he’s at all responsible for any of the incidents that happened this week at.
(…)
This is awful dang familiar.