Following the liberal media’s strategy of attacking God-fearing people for offering their “thoughts and prayers” concerning the San Bernardino shooting, Thursday’s NBC Nightly News joined that chorus with a unrelenting report from NBC News correspondent and MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell that also lamented the lack of Democratic gun control proposals.
In addition, Mitchell prominently touted a liberal blogger from Think Progress who has chosen to spend Wednesday and Thursday viciously smearing conservatives and the National Rifle Association (NRA) for not supporting gun control and instead firmly expressing their “thoughts and prayers” for the victims.
Anchor Lester Holt started by opining from the scene in San Bernardino that “[e]ven as the country mourns those victims, it is facing a political firestorm over the mass shooting here, reigniting a polarized and angry back and forth over guns, religion and terrorism” that “started almost immediately” upon word of the tragedy.
Mitchell picked up from there and declared that “[t]he guns had barely fallen silent before both sides went to their corners” with her ruling that “Republicans tweet[ed] their prayers for the victims and denouncing Islamic terrorism” (even though we didn’t know the names of the shooters until sometime after that) while “Democrats focus[ed] on guns.”
After knocking Donald Trump for having resulted to an “innuendo” to criticize the President on his refusal to acknowledge radical Islamic terrorism, Mitchell touted the covers of the New York tabloids that included the now-infamous New York Daily News headline “God isn’t fixing this” and the tasteless crusade by Think Progress editor Igor Volsky:
MITCHELL: Liberal blogger Igor Volsky set off a tweet storm, calling out lawmakers who offer prayers but oppose new gun laws, pointing out how much money they received from the NRA.
THINK PROGRESS CONTRIBUTING EDITOR IGOR VOLSKY: After every mass shooting, all these lawmakers have been thinking and praying and they’ve been doing nothing at all.
On Volsky’s point, Mitchell complained that the Senate on Thursday “defeated a Democratic proposal that would have blocked people on the terror watch list from buying guns” as “the NRA won every vote today despite public support for background checks.”
Invoking the President, Mitchell concluded with a sense of frustration that he “seem[ed] resigned that Congress simply won't act.”
In contrast, ABC’s World News Tonight ran a straight-forward piece by correspondent Tom Llamas recapping the various reactions by the 2016 candidates while the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley refrained from any mention of this liberal line of attack.
The transcript of the segment from December 3's NBC Nightly News can be found below.
NBC Nightly News
December 3, 2015
7:13 p.m. EasternLESTER HOLT: Even as the country mourns those victims, it is facing a political firestorm over the mass shooting here, reigniting a polarized and angry back and forth over guns, religion and terrorism. As NBC's Andrea Mitchell tells us, the arguments started almost immediately.
ANDREA MITCHELL: The gun had barely fallen silent before both sides went to their corners. Republicans tweeting their prayers for the victims and denouncing Islamic terrorism. Democrats focusing on guns.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Right now, it's just too easy. We can take basic steps that would make it harder, not impossible, but harder for individuals to get access to weapons.
MITCHELL: Donald Trump slammed the President with innuendo.
DONALD TRUMP: Radical Islamic terrorism and I'll tell you what, we have a President that refuses to use the term. He refuses to say it. There's something going on with him that we don't know about.
MITCHELL: It's a political divide graphically illustrated in today's New York tabloids. “Muslim killers” versus “God isn't fixing this.” Liberal blogger Igor Volsky set off a tweet storm, calling out lawmakers who offer prayers but oppose new gun laws, pointing out how much money they received from the NRA.
THINK PROGRESS CONTRIBUTING EDITOR IGOR VOLSKY: After every mass shooting, all these lawmakers have been thinking and praying and they’ve been doing nothing at all.
MITCHELL: Just today, the Senate defeated a Democratic proposal that would have blocked people on the terror watch list from buying guns.
HILLARY CLINTON: If you are too dangerous to fly in America, you are too dangerous to buy a gun in America.
MITCHELL: Donald Trump bragged all this is helping him.
TRUMP: Every single time there's a tragedy, my poll numbers go up.
MITCHELL: And the NRA won every vote today despite public support for background checks and the President seems resigned that Congress simply won't act. Lester?
HOLT: Andrea, thank you.
