Early New York Times coverage of the anti-Trump violence committed by left-wingers outside a Trump rally in San Jose was distinctly underwhelming, with reporter Alan Rappeport having the gall to blame Trump for failing to condemn the violence instigated by anti-Trump protesters, while letting the Clinton campaign pose as above it all. (Peruse Rappeport’s pro-Democratic rap sheet at Newsbusters.)
Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman, John Podesta, condemned political violence of any kind after clashes between supporters of Donald J. Trump and protesters during the presumptive Republican presidential nominee’s rally in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday night.
Mr. Podesta posted a video on Twitter that appeared to show a Trump supporter being beaten by protesters outside of the event. The footage also showed supporters of Mr. Trump being chased by protesters as a “Make America Great Again” hat was set on fire.
“Violence against supporters of any candidate has no place in this election,” Mr. Podesta wrote.
The ugly scene is the latest example of the anger that is bubbling over in a volatile year for American politics. Mr. Trump’s trip to California in late April was marred when several of his supporters were bloodied by protesters and, in March, one of his rallies in Chicago was canceled after protesters flooded the streets.
Rappeport bizarrely suggested blamed Trump for failing to condemn the violence, even though it was committed against his own supporters. Shouldn’t this query be directed to the coalition of far-left groups and anarchic thugs committing the violence and vandalism?
While Mr. Trump has said he does not condone violence of any kind, his campaign made little effort to condemn it on Friday.
Dan Scavino, the Trump campaign’s social media director, called the protesters “criminals” and “thugs” in a post on Twitter and said that their “gravy train” would soon be over.
Rappeport again strangely put the onus on Trump, as if he had somehow instigated the violence against his supporters.
Mr. Trump also showed little concern about the violence as he continued his swing through California, which votes on Tuesday, with a rally in Redding on Friday afternoon. Looking past the end of the primary election season, he announced on Twitter that he will be making a foreign trip later this month.
Nick Corasaniti and Jonah Engel Bromwich’s A13 story in the New York edition, “Clash Erupts at an Event for Trump,” was only a little more enlightening, with a misleading neutral headline, a three-paragraph delay before mentioning the assaults, and the inclusion of a sentence suggesting blame on both sides.
Donald J. Trump unleashed an attack on Hillary Clinton on Thursday in response to her speech earlier in the day criticizing his foreign policy positions.
Speaking at a campaign rally here, he began by calling her speech “pathetic,” dismissing it as a stunt and saying, “It had nothing to do with foreign policy.”
Outside the event, protesters, some brandishing Mexican flags, clashed violently with Mr. Trump’s supporters.
Videos taken at the scene showed a number of physical confrontations. In one, a supporter wearing a football jersey emblazoned with Mr. Trump’s name was pelted with eggs. Another showed an unsuspecting man being surrounded by protesters and punched in the face.
The reporters swiftly pivoted to criticizing Trump, not the violent protesters trying to shut down speech.
That line of attack closely aligns with the writing of Ed Klein, the conservative author whose books on Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama have been dismissed by critics as including fabricated accounts of events. Mr. Trump recently met with Mr. Klein.
Though he offered some lighthearted jokes about the crowd size being affected by the N.B.A. finals nearby, Mr. Trump seemed to grow angrier during the speech and repeatedly went after Mrs. Clinton.
The Times also suggested Trump was remiss in not taking to Twitter about the events (after spending months criticizing Trump's Twitter-heavy campaign).
Mr. Trump was active on Twitter after the event but did not comment on the violence.
