As with most tragedies, some can’t let the moment pass without blaming Christians, conservatives, or Republicans. Commenting on Thursday’s murder of journalists at Annapolis, Maryland’s Capital Gazette, CNN legal and national security analyst Asha Rangappa blamed President Trump’s near-daily comments about the news media for the deranged gunman’s actions.
Naturally, as we’ve learned since, the alleged gunman’s actions and animosity toward The Capital Gazette had nothing to do with the President and everything to do with a dismissed defamation suit he had filed against the paper and the possibility he was an Emotionally Disturbed Person (EDP).
On AC360, Rangappa chalked up the gunman to having been a lone wolf upon hearing the 8:00 p.m. Eastern update by law enforcement officials near the scene and thus “a lot of clues about motive might come from the people around him” such as “[f]riends and family.”
“If he was doing this alone, you know, lone wolf shooters are very difficult to identify and prevent ahead of time, because usually, the people who are seeing signs of it are the people closest to this person,” she added before pivoting to blaming the President.
Without interruption, here is Rangappa’s full comments that tried to place blame on the President and media criticism for having possibly inspired the gunman:
[A]nd just to relate this back to kind of a bigger conversation that we've had this week about civility and rhetoric, you know, lone wolf actors are often alienated individuals who are looking to displace their anger and frustration onto some kind of outside entity or enemy, and I think it’s worth pointing out that we've had a constant rhetoric coming even from the President that the press is the enemy of the people, that's been repeated constantly, and I think it's worth noting if there is a link here that the publication was being targeted that that kind of rhetoric can be very dangerous in these times.
Everyone should be careful with what they say in private and public, but most (or at least enough) people were raised to be responsible for their own actions. 2018 is certainly part of an era where the level of partisanship seems like it couldn’t possibly get any worse, so it would behoove all of us to take a few deep breathes.
However, recklessly blaming the President for a deranged and sadistic gunman’s actions serves no one besides push a partisan agenda. And such behavior helps no one on a dire day such as this one.
To see the relevant transcript from CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 on June 28, click “expand.”
CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360
June 28, 2018
8:19 p.m. EasternANDERSON COOPER: Asha, I mean, again, it is very early in this investigation. Motive, which is obviously very important in this inves — in every situation, but this as well, not yet determined. We don't know why this news room was perhaps targeted, even if the shooter knew any of the actually victims or editors at the paper. The two people who lived through this who I’m going to talk to, reporters, distinctly describe the path the gunman took through the newsroom and where people were and who it was that he seemed to, in their opinion, be looking for. But, again, we don’t know yet motive. Some threats were made over social media. At this point, what do investigators do to try to determine motive? Obviously there’s the interview process. Whether or not he's being cooperative is unknown at this point.
ASHA RANGAPPA: Right. Well, obviously speaking directly with the shooter. He's still alive. He'll be able to give them the best information. I think they’re going to want to confirm this is what it sounds like, but they're going to want to know was he doing this alone? Or was this in coordination with anybody or did anybody know about this? And a lot of clues about motive might come from the people around him. Friends and family. If he was doing this alone, you know, lone wolf shooters are very difficult to identify and prevent ahead of time, because usually, the people who are seeing signs of it are the people closest to this person and just to relate this back to kind of a bigger conversation that we've had this week about civility and rhetoric, you know, lone wolf actors are often alienated individuals who are looking to displace their anger and frustration onto some kind of outside entity or enemy, and I think it’s worth pointing out that we've had a constant rhetoric coming even from the President that the press is the enemy of the people, that's been repeated constantly, and I think it's worth noting if there is a link here that the publication was being targeted that that kind of rhetoric can be very dangerous in these times.
