The attempt to blame Donald Trump for the awful shooting in Annapolis on Thursday continued on CBS. This Morning co-host Gayle King on Friday rightly said: “You don't think you're in danger going to your office day. That's why this is so troubling.” But then she added, “I don't think it helps, either to have the President of the United States saying that the media is the enemy of the people to lead to one of the deadliest attacks in U.S. history.”
As CBS reported earlier in the show, shooter Jarrod Ramos had a longstanding and personal grudge against The Capital Gazette. He had been harassing the paper back to 2011. So, it was left to guest co-host Vladimir Duthiers to remind King: “This newspaper was founded in the 1700s. It’s not about politics.”
In the last 24 hours, we've seen this attempt at blame play out on multiple media outlets. CNN analyst Asha Rangappa found culpability: “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.”
Shortly after the shooting, the editor of Reuters tweeted out: “Blood is on your hands, Mr. President.” See the Media Research Center’s Kristine marsh for other examples.
A partial transcript is below:
CBS This Morning
6/29/188:04
NORAH O’DONNELL: In response to the attack yesterday, President Trump tweeted yesterday “My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.”
...
GAYLE KING: I so admire the people at the newspaper that said, we're still putting out a damn paper tomorrow. You know, when you think — As you said at the top of the show, this is the deadliest attack on journalists in U.S. history. You don’t think that you’re in danger when you go to your job. You think if you're covering a war area, maybe. If you’re covering a very domestic situation, maybe. You don't think you're in danger going to your office day. That's why this is so troubling.
O’DONNELL: Troubling indeed. And why you saw many of the news organizations step up their police presence certainly in new York and the Washington, D.C., area in light of this.
KING: All right. Thank you very much, Norah. I don't think it helps, either to you have the President of the United States saying the media is the enemy of the people to lead to one of the deadliest attacks in U.S. history.
VLADIMIR DUTHIERS: Local newspapers are the heart and soul of communities.
KING: That’s right.
DUTHIERS: This newspaper was founded in the 1700s. It’s not about politics.
