In the wake of the New York City truck attack, President Trump called on Congress to eliminate the Diversity Visa Lottery Program since the terrorist used the program to enter the United States in 2010. It was an idea that had bipartisan support in the past, but on Wednesday the Big Three Networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) were up in arms and claimed the President was exploiting a tragedy for political gain. Yet they themselves have a long history of doing just that after mass shootings.
All three networks insisted Trump was a hypocrite because he refused to entertain their cries for gun control after the Las Vegas mass shooting. “In stark contrast to his response to the shooting in Las Vegas last month, when the White House for days said it was inappropriate to talk about politics or policy, within hours of the New York attack, the President unloaded in a series of political tweets,” chided ABC Chief White House Correspondent Jon Karl during World News Tonight.
“In the days that followed, the President was clear: It was not the time to discuss policy,” recalled Correspondent Nancy Cordes on CBS Evening News. “In contrast, within hours of yesterday's terror attack in New York City, he was vowing “to step up our already extreme vetting program” and calling for an immigration overhaul.”
And on NBC Nightly News, White House Correspondent Kristen Welker used a talking point from Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer saying: “Today Schumer fired back: ‘I guess it's not too soon to politicize a tragedy.’” “The President’s call for action a sharp contrast to his response to the Las Vegas massacre which claimed 58 lives. Then he said it was too soon to talk about gun control,” she added.
There seemed to be no consideration by the networks that in the case of the New York City attack it was committed by a man who was acting on behalf of ISIS, an organization that the U.S. and its allies had been at war with for years. Or perhaps it’s because their policy pushing ultimately involved restricting Americans’ rights. They were also oblivious to their own hypocrisy regarding how the President should react after a deadly event.
In the aftermath of the Las Vegas massacre, both ABC and CBS whined that Trump and the White House would not call the event an act of terrorism even though a motive wasn’t known. One month later and the question of the shooter’s motive was still unanswered.
It’s clear that the only time they wanted immediate action after a tragedy was when it was for a cause they supported. After the Las Vegas mass shooting all the networks complained that “little would change” with gun control while Trump was president. In fact, a Media Research Center study found that in the six days after the attack the networks flooded their broadcasts with anti-gun propaganda by a 5 to 1 ratio.
All three were also fine when Obama declared that mass shootings were “something we should politicize.” NBC aided him by fawning over how “emotional” the President would get when pushing gun control.
CBS actually ran two separate reports complaining about Trump’s reaction to the NYC attack. In the second one, Cordes bemoaned how “the conflicting reactions to two tragedies angered some Muslim American leaders.” “Why the hypocrisy in why the double standards,” an unidentified man moaned. While CBS failed to properly identify the man with an on-screen chyron or by Cordes saying his name, an observation of a certificate behind him identified the man as Hassan Shibly, the head of CAIR’s Florida chapter.
The networks were also upset that Trump would link Senator Schumer to the Diversity Visa Lottery Program since he supported its creation. Yet, they all glorified Kimmy Kimmel when he said Republicans should pray for God’s forgiveness since they helped cause the Las Vegas shooting.
Trump’s calls for action were just another item for the liberal media to beat-up on him for.
Transcripts below:
CBS Evening News
November 1, 2017
6:38:36 – 6:41:13 PM Eastern [2 minutes 38 seconds]JEFF GLOR: President Trump responded to the terror attack in his hometown with both anger for the suspect and Democrats he blamed for allowing him into the country. Here is Chief White House correspondent Major Garrett.
[Cuts to video]
DONALD TRUMP: We're going to get rid of this lottery program as soon as possible.
MAJOR GARRETT: Meeting with his cabinet, President Trump called the New York attacker an animal and urged Congress to end the visa lottery program the suspect used to enter the U.S. in 2010.
(…)
CHUCK SCHUMER: Look, the President ought to stop tweeting and start leading. The American people long for leadership, not divisiveness, not finger-pointing, not name-calling.
GARRETT: Tennessee Republican Bob Corker agreed.
BOB CORKER: I don't know that's how you bring out the best in our country, but everybody has their ways I guess.
GARRETT: The President also lashed out against prosecutions against terror suspects and said he would consider sending Sayfullo Saipov to the military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
(…)
6:41:13 – 6:43:15 PM Eastern [2 minutes 2 seconds]
GLOR: The President's response to the New York attack was in sharp contrast to what he did after the massacre in Las Vegas. Here's Nancy Cordes.
(…)
NANCY CORDES: In the days that followed, the President was clear: It was not the time to discuss policy.
DONALD TRUMP: We're not going to talk about that today. We won't talk about that. We will be talking about gun laws as time goes by.
CORDES: In contrast, within hours of yesterday's terror attack in New York City, he was vowing “to step up our already extreme vetting program” and calling for an immigration overhaul.
TRUMP: We'll get rid of this lottery program as soon as possible.
CORDES: The conflicting reactions to two tragedies angered some Muslim American leaders.
CAIR’s HASSAN SHIBLY (His name was never put on screen or mentioned, but visible on a certificate hanging on a wall behind him): Why the hypocrisy in why the double standards.
(…)
CORDES: White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said today it shouldn't surprise anyone that the President is more focused on immigration.
(…)
...
NBC Nightly News
November 1, 2017
7:08:01 – 7:10:04PM eastern [2 minutes 3 seconds]LESTER HOLT: Tonight President Trump is calling the terror suspect an animal even though Saipov has been charged in federal court tonight, calls are growing louder from some lawmakers on Capitol Hill for him to be treated as an enemy combatant and sent to Guantanamo. Our White House correspondent Kristen Welker has those details.
(…)
KRISTEN WELKER: Mr. Trump also called on Congress to dismantle the Diversity Visa Lottery Program which allowed Sayfullo Saipov into the United States from Uzbekistan in 2010.
DONALD TRUMP: Diversity lottery sounds nice. It's not nice. It's not good.
WELKER: The program randomly selects applicants from countries with low immigration rates. There are some requirements like criminal background checks, but Mr. Trump says it isn't tough enough.
TRUMP: We have to get much less politically correct.
WELKER: The President called the diversity program a “Chuck Schumer beauty.” Schumer initially supported the '90s era law, but in 2013 backed a bipartisan bill to scrap it. Today Schumer fired back: “I guess it's not too soon to politicize a tragedy.”
CHUCK SCHUMER: The president ought to stop tweeting and start leading.
WELKER: The President’s call for action a sharp contrast to his response to the Las Vegas massacre which claimed 58 lives. Then he said it was too soon to talk about gun control.
(…)
