A pair of ABC News personalities on Sunday morning argued that Donald Trump and his supporters bear responsibility for the attempt on his life that took place when a gunman shot him at a Pennsylvania rally the night before.
“Violent rhetoric” from Trump and the millions of Americans who agree with his policies was to blame for the 45th president’s brush with death, argued George Stephanopoulos and Martha Raddatz.
“President Trump and his supporters have contributed to this violent rhetoric as well,” said Stephanopoulos, a well-known Democrat and former senior advisor to Bill Clinton.
“Absolutely, George,” Raddatz agreed. “We were just looking back this morning at some of the things that former President Trump has said.”
“[Trump] warned last March of potential death and destruction if he was charged by the Manhattan District Attorney [Alvin Bragg],” the ABC hostess claimed.
She pointed to a sentence that Trump supposedly said at the time: “Our country is being destroyed as they tell us to be peaceful.” Raddatz did not elaborate on the context in which Trump allegedly made this remark.
“Trump in January warned of bedlam in the country if the criminal charges against him succeeded,” Raddatz continued. “And of course in March, he said ‘Now, if I don’t get elected it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole … country, that will be the least of it.”
Several months ago, observers blasted mainstream media sources for taking Trump’s use of the word “bloodbath” in this instance significantly out of context.
In reality, Trump said the aforementioned sentence during a speech on trade and China policy. There, he specifically warned of a potential “bloodbath” for the automotive industries if President Joe Biden were reelected and continued his lenient trade policies toward China.
On the Sunday morning ABC broadcast, Raddatz continued: “And you have heard it from supporters as well. …[S]upporters are certainly in some parts angry and let’s remember January 6.”
Raddatz then conceded that “in so many ways for the [2024] campaign, January 6 will probably be in the background after yesterday’s event.”
She called the assassination attempt on Trump “a very difficult time for this campaign.” She added that she is “sure” that Trump will “highlight this” during this week’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
“President Biden is going to have to figure out how to go forward with this campaign and what exactly they say,” Raddatz said in closing.
The Daily Editor Senior Editor Cabot Phillips called the segment with Stephanopoulos and Raddatz “[u]nreal” in a post on X (formerly Twitter). “It took less than 24 hours for ABC to start blaming Trump for last night,” Phillips pointed out.
Unreal. It took less than 24 hours for ABC to start blaming Trump for last night.
“President Trump and his supporters have contributed to this violent rhetoric…”
“And let’s remember January 6th…” pic.twitter.com/I0M7g7byUX— Cabot Phillips (@cabot_phillips) July 14, 2024
Conservative political commentator Tomi Lahren called the segment “sick.”
“Our president was nearly assassinated and one of his supporters was shot dead,” she wrote on X. “And these nasty hacks on this nasty networks have the audacity to blame Donald Trump and his supporters?! They should all quit media forever, today.”
This is sick. Our president was nearly assassinated and one of his supporters was shot dead. And these nasty hacks on this nasty networks have the audacity to blame Donald Trump and his supporters?! They should all quit media forever, today. pic.twitter.com/4QabHSl6cl— Tomi Lahren (@TomiLahren) July 14, 2024
This is not the first time this year that ABC News and Stephanopoulos in particular came under scrutiny for allegations of bad faith bias against Trump.