The Associated Press has both given short shrift to and significantly whitewashed a frightening, violent threat made against President Donald Trump by a Democratic state representative from South Portland, Maine. On Tuesday, Scott Hamann, in a long Facebook rant, wrote, among other things, that "Trump is a half term president, at most, especially if I ever get within 10 feet of that p***y.”
If that isn't a death threat, I don't know what is. The AP writer on the story would only acknowledge that the state's GOP chairman saw it that way.
Hamann's full Facebook rant, since reportedly pulled, is here.
His characterizations of President Trump include but aren't limited to the following (some wording sanitized):
- "Trump was installed by the Russians ..."
- "Trump is a joke, and anyone who doesn't have their head up their a** understands that."
- "He's an admitted rapist ..."
- "He's an out of the closet racist."
Hamann also doesn't think much of those who voted for Trump: "Don't like the truth? ... Well f*** you, snowflake. You're a f***ing p***y. And you people are destroying America."
Hamann also wrote that "President Obama ran quite possibly the classiest 2 term presidency in US history, no scandals ..." What Hamann knows about "class" is a mystery.
Hamann's clear-as-day death wrapped up his post.
The AP does not even have a story on Hamann's threat at its main national site. Its APnews.com site has the following brief unbylined item, which was clearly held, as is so often the case, until the Democrat had a chance to make a pathetic attempt to defend himself (specific time stamp obtained at the story as it appeared at the Charlotte Observer):
It's quite obvious, based on the Facebook post quotes seen earlier, that Hamann wasn't being "sarcastic" at all. He was bitterly angry. It's also quite obvious that AP deliberately kept Hamann's most inflammatory example of name-calling — the three words following "within 10 feet" — out of its report.
Further running protection for the Maine Democrat, note how the AP would not characterize what Hamann wrote as the violent threat that it was, instead leaving that to Maine's GOP Chairwoman.
A more complete portion of Demi Kouzounas's statement was carried at CentralMaine.com, along with interesting facts and history the AP failed to report (bolds are mine):
Demi Kouzounas, chairwoman of the Maine Republican Party, issued a statement calling Hamann “unhinged and dangerous.”
“Words cannot even begin to describe the level of revulsion I feel after reading Rep. Scott Hamann’s recent tirade that has come to light,” Kouzounas said in a prepared statement. “Perhaps the most alarming aspect of this tirade is an implied death threat against our president.” (The AP writer should have put "implied death threat" in quotes, though it's hard to see how what Hamann posted was only "implied." — Ed.)
Dave Watson, the resident agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service field office in Portland, said his agency had been made aware of Hamann’s comments. Watson said his office also was receiving phone calls from the general public about the post.
“We are looking into it, but as to whether an investigation has been opened, I can’t comment on that,” Watson said. “But we have been getting messages.”
This is not the first time that a Maine lawmaker has found himself on the hot seat for an offensive social media post. In March 2015, former state Sen. Mike Willette, a Presque Isle Republican, was forced to resign the chairmanship of the Legislature’s State and Local Government Committee after he posted derogatory remarks about then-President Barack Obama and Muslims on Facebook.
Willette posted an item that criticized Obama’s handling of the Islamic State and said that Obama would deal with the terrorist group at “the family reunion.” Previous posts by Willette included comments and memes about Muslims and immigrants that have been criticized as racist, bigoted and xenophobic.
It would appear that the AP writer left the story of Mike Willette out of the wire service's story because he or she didn't want anyone to get any ideas that Hamann is deserving of serious discipline.
During the Obama era, people were forced out of their jobs and suffered other forms employment-related discipline for merely ridiculing the president. If a clear death threat doesn't result in harsher penalties against Hamann, it will further expose a serious and long-running double standard on the left.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
