In a highly contentious press conference Tuesday, Donald Trump attacked the press for their justified scrutiny of funds raised for veterans. In the press conference, Trump stated he thought it wasn’t right for the press to pay so much attention to the promised funds.
Even though this kind of attention to detail was not present in 2008 for then-Senator Barack Obama, it’s important to follow the money promised to our veterans. Commentator Dana Loesch agreed, “I'm glad to see that the press is finally standing up to do its job,” she stated on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 Tuesday.
Loesch argued that it was reasonable for Republicans and people on the right to hate the liberal media:
One of the reasons that we're seeing this visceral reaction against the press, Anderson, is because for— Actually a little over eight years we've seen a press that has protected certain aspects of the beltway. We've seen a press that has protected this current administration.
She went on the remind the viewers that the media had ignored Operation Fast and Furious, ignored the people losing their health insurance due to ObamaCare, and treated Benghazi as though it was a “made up” scandal.
“[The media has] a higher unfavorability rating than Congress and that's for a reason,” she continued, “And so, the press has to earn back respect from people and I'm not surprised to see someone actually have this sort of interaction with the press.”
Upon hearing the facts as they were told by Loesch, host Anderson Cooper asked her if Trump just needed to acquire thicker skin.
The conservative commentator responded to Cooper by agreeing that the level of scrutiny required to be president can be oppressing, but needed. She also agreed that following the donated funds was highly important. Especially since it has been reported that a few of the organizations receiving funds were less than reputable.
In addition to arguing that Trump’s vetting was warranted, she forcefully stated that vetting needed to become the norm for everything in the beltway:
But at the same time I would love to see, this sort of, turning over every single rock and looking in every nook and cranny and gathering all the facts. I would love to see this applied to every other aspect of Washington, D.C. And the current administration which we haven't.
Transcript below:
CNN
Anderson Cooper 360
May 31, 2016
8:07:29 PM EasternDANA LOESCH: Well, I'm glad to see that the press is finally standing up to do its job. Look, I think Trump can be scrutinized. I mean, he's a politician. He's applying for the top job in the land so of course the press is to scrutinize these candidates. They are to scrutinize these people. So should citizen journalists as well.
But here’s the thing. One of the reasons that we're seeing this visceral reaction against the press, Anderson, is because for — actually a little over eight years we've seen a press that has protected certain aspects of the beltway. We've seen a press that has protected this current administration. We've seen a press that has turned a blind eye to Fast and Furious. And we saw them turn a blind eye to the Affordable Care Act and the report there in of people losing their insurance. We saw it again with Benghazi, everything being reported on as it's a non-story, or it’s some sort of made up scandal.
So yeah, people don't trust the press. The press, I think — what was it? They have a higher unfavorability rating than Congress and that's for a reason. And so, the press has to earn back respect from people and I'm not surprised to see someone actually have this sort of interaction with the press.
However on the other hand you have to expect when you are running for president, and particularly if you are running for president as a Republican, the press is going to come after you. And they’re going to come after you harder than they will the other side.
ANDERSON COOPER: Do you think, Dana, that Trump looks at all thin skinned on this? Because, I keep coming back to the idea that — you know, he has had relationships with reporters, close relationships with reporters going back decades. He's had probably more press attention going back decades but it is a completely different kind of attention than he's going to be getting now and I think he seems to bristle at it perhaps understandably. Do you think that plays a role in this as well that he's not used to this sort of — you know, it's one thing for reporters to be covering you as a business person, or the FOIL-ables or whatever it is, but when you're running for president it is a different level of attention.
LOESCH: Right. I do agree with that. And you really can't be used to this level until you've actually gone through it and have experienced it. But at the same time that we're talking about where the money went — and I think these are good questions to ask. Look, I'm not saying none of these questions are horrible questions to ask, and I think it's smart to vet these charities before you start distributing funds.
But at the same time I would love to see, this sort of, turning over every single rock and looking in every nook and cranny and gathering all the facts. I would love to see this applied to every other aspect of Washington, D.C. and the current administration which we haven't. So you know, I think people need to understand they need to have this expectation that, well, there's this relationship that the media has cultivated.
