Media outlets have been exclusively blaming President Donald Trump for “fanning the flames of hate” in the wake of last week’s bomb scares and synagogue shooting but have failed to grapple with their own violent rhetoric and hateful attacks on the president.
Two hundred current and former journalists signed a letter last week condemning Trump’s attacks on the media and accused him of inciting violence. CNN President Jeff Zucker said in a statement that “there is a total and complete lack of understanding at the White House about the seriousness of their continued attacks on the media.” (RELATED: CNN Claims They Never ‘Directly’ Blamed Trump For Pipe Bombs)
But at a Wednesday rally in Wisconsin, Trump said the media has a “responsibility to set a civil tone” and blamed them for some of the “anger” in the country.
The media claimed to be victimized by Trump’s criticism, but failed to consider the role they have played in heating up rhetoric.
Here is a list of the most hateful and aggressive attacks on the Trump administration and Trump supporters by the media:
1. MSNBC’s Scarborough: Trump Damages American Dream More Than Terrorists
Joe Scarborough, the host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” claimed on the eve of the September 11 terror attacks that President Donald Trump has done more damage to the American dream “than any terrorist attack ever could.”
Scarborough wrote in The Washington Post, “The question for voters this fall is whether their country will move beyond this troubled chapter in history or whether they will continue supporting a politician who has done more damage to the dream of America than any foreign adversary ever could.”
My Latest—> Trump is damaging the dream of America more than any terrorist attack ever could. https://t.co/DEnYurEFmW
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) September 11, 2018
2. MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace Suggests Wringing Sarah Sanders’ Neck
MSNBC anchor Nicolle Wallace became so angry after one White House press briefing that she asked reporter Kristen Welker how she avoids “wringing” press secretary Sarah Sanders’ neck.
“Kristen Welker, how do you resist the temptation to run up and wring her neck?” Wallace said.
3. CNN’s Don Lemon Declares It A ‘Fact’ That Trump Is ‘Racist’
CNN anchor Don Lemon has called Trump a racist on numerous occasions. After a guest critiqued him for making that claim in August, Lemon said, “A statement of fact is not an attack.”
NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 13: News anchor Don Lemon hosts the Ellie Awards 2018 on March 13, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Ben Gabbe/Getty Images for The Association of Magazine Media)
“It’s not active like, oh, my gosh, you catch someone in the act being racist. You judge people on their lives, on their action. And that’s what I’ve judged from the facts,” Lemon asserted. “And know this administration and his supporters is fact-challenged, but all you have to do is look at the facts.”
4. CNN’s Fareed Zakaria: ‘Treasonous’ Not Strong Enough To Describe Trump
CNN anchor Fareed Zakaria reacted to President Trump’s joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland, by saying that “treasonous” is not a strong enough word for this president.
5. MSNBC’s Donny Deutsch: Trump Could Be A Sociopath
Donny Deutsch, a frequent member of the “Morning Joe” panel on MSNBC, diagnosed the president with sociopathy in 2017.
“I did some homework and there’s nothing glib about this. I just need 40 seconds, how to determine if someone’s a sociopath,” Deutsch said. “So many traits of a sociopath this man has displayed.”
6. HuffPo Publishes Article Calling For ‘Execution’ Of Trump
HuffPo published, then unpublished, an article in June 2017 saying that Trump and his allies should receive the “ultimate punishment — execution” if tried and convicted of treason.
“Trump must be prosecuted — if convicted in a court of law — executed,” contributor Jason Fuller wrote, adding that impeachment isn’t a strong enough measure to “drain the swamp.”
7. Politico Reporter Calls Trump Supporters ‘Garbage People’ With Bad Teeth
Politico’s Marc Caputo called Trump supporters at a rally in Florida “garbage people” and opined that if “you put everyone’s mouths together in this video, you’d get a full set of teeth.
Caputo deleted the tweet and apologized after swift backlash.
While it’s usually a good idea to just delete tweets that are wrong, I own this and the criticism (both accurate and misleading) that has followed. I’ll do better. Here they are: 3/3 pic.twitter.com/G2rZrHjYWb
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) August 1, 2018
8. Scarborough Compares Child Separation To Concentration Camps
MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough compared the policy of separating families at the border when they immigrate illegally to Nazi concentration camps on June 15.
NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 08: MSNBC hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski present an award onstage during the Daily Front Row’s Fashion Media Awards at Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown on September 8, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Daily Front Row)
“Children are being marched away to showers, just like the Nazis,” Scarborough claimed.
9. MSNBC’s Chris Matthews Calls For ‘Vengeance’
MSNBC anchor Chris Matthews said in June that Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement from the Supreme Court is a “time for vengeance” for Democrats who did not get to confirm Merrick Garland.
“This is a time for vengeance for what happened two years ago, and if they don’t reap the vengeance now with four and a half months to go before the election, they will not look very strong to their base, and I think they’ll be under attack,” Matthews said.
10. Nicolle Wallace: Are Trump Women Dead Inside?
Wallace pondered in June if the women in the Trump family are actually human beings, stating, “Well, let me ask you, you know more about the Trump women, the Trump family than anyone. What do they do on a day like today? Are they just the most stoic human beings, are they numb, are they dead inside, are they paid off, I mean, what’s their deal?”
Wallace’s guest, Vanity Fair reporter Emily Jane Fox, replied simply, “Yes, yes, and yes.”
11. GQ Writer: Trump Has Radicalized More People Than ISIS
GQ’s Julia Ioffe claimed on CNN this week that the president has radicalized more people in this country than the Islamic State.
“I think this president, one of the things that he really launched his presidential run on is talking about Islamic radicalization. And this president has radicalized so many more people than ISIS ever did,” Ioffe said.
Anchor Jake Tapper failed to push back on Ioffe’s assertion, and Ioffe was later forced to apologize on air.
12. WaPo Op-Ed: Comparing Trump To Hitler Belittles Hitler
The Washington Post ran an op-ed in September that asserted comparing Trump to Hitler is actually an insult to Hitler.
“Hitler was a psychopath. Trump is just a con man,” author Shalom Auslander wrote.
Hitler, Auslander reasoned, believed what he said while Trump is just playing pretend to feed his base.
“Hitler had some opinions, he had some plans. They were monstrous and evil, and reason enough for even an avowed atheist to consider the existence of Satan. But I don’t recall Hitler flip-flopping,” he added.
13. CNN’s April Ryan Jokes About Street Brawling With Sarah Sanders
After a contentious White House press briefing exchange in May, CNN analyst April Ryan chided White House press secretary Sarah Sanders for allegedly implying a “physical fight” by pushing back on her questions.
NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 13: Author and journalist April Ryan speaks during Lafayette 148 New York x April Ryan “Under Fire” Book Launch on September 13, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Robin Marchant/Getty Images for Lafayette 148 New York x April Ryan “Under Fire” book Launch)
Ryan later joked on Twitter about getting into a “street fight” with Sanders.
“She needs to know what she is saying,” Ryan tweeted. “Take off that pretty ring to fornthe [sic] street fight.”
14. NYT Columnist: Trump’s Immigration Policy Is ‘Evil’
The New York Times’ Nicholas Kristof said in May that he believes separating families at the border is an “evil” policy.
“Is this really who we are? As a parent, as the son of a refugee myself, I find that in this case Trump’s policy has veered from merely abhorrent to truly evil,” Kristof wrote.
15. CNN Host Reza Aslan Calls Trump A ‘Piece Of Shit’
CNN’s Reza Aslan called Trump a “piece of shit” in June 2017 when the president touted his travel ban after a terror attack in London.
CNN eventually canceled Aslan’s show after a horde of old, vulgar tweets directed toward his political opponents were surfaced by The Daily Caller. (RELATED: CNN Host Who Called Trump A ‘Piece Of Sh**’ Has History Of Profane Tweets)
16. WaPo’s Jennifer Rubin: Sarah Sanders Should Be Harassed As A ‘Life Sentence’
After White House press secretary Sarah Sanders was refused service at a restaurant, Washington Post columnist and MSNBC contributor Jennifer Rubin asserted in July that Sanders got what she deserved.
“Sarah Huckabee has no right to live a life of no fuss, no muss, after lying to the press, after inciting against the press. These people should be made uncomfortable, and I think that is a life sentence,” Rubin said.
17. Nicolle Wallace: Trump Officials ‘Do Not Appear To Be Human Beings’
MSNBC anchor Nicolle Wallace questioned in October 2017 if the people who work in the Trump administration can even be classified as human beings.
“There’s no capacity for humanity, these do not appear to be human beings,” Wallace said. “They trotted General Kelly out as a human shield last week, a political human shield to take the swings that Donald Trump wasn’t man enough to take for himself.”
18. MSNBC’s Elise Jordan: Should Sarah Sanders Be Welcome In Society?
MSNBC contributor Elise Jordan wondered after Sanders was refused service at the Red Hen restaurant if the press secretary should always be welcome in society.
NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 26: Elise Jordan attends the 92nd Street Y presents “Elise Jordan And Steve Schmidt In Conversation With Preet Bharara.” (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
“Should someone who lies constantly and enables the president’s lies be openly welcomed in society wherever they please? Should they face any kind of social or societal pressure?” Jordan asked.
19. NYT Publishes Trump Assassination Fantasy
The New York Times published a writer’s fantasy about the president being assassinated by his own Secret Service team one day before pipe bombs were sent to Democratic officials and the CNN headquarters in New York City.
The story features a Russian agent who is on a mission to kill Trump when his gun misfires. Trump’s Secret Service agent, instead of shooting the Russian agent, gives him his own gun to assassinate the president.
20.CNN’s John Avlon Compares ‘America First’ To Nazi Message
Avlon, a contributor on CNN, said on Tuesday that Trump’s “America First” messaging is like Nazi Germany’s Kristallnacht.
“You talked about the 1930s and how many Americans turned a blind eye to Kristallnacht and other things. At that same time was the original incarnation of America first, a group of isolationists that did not want to intervene against Hitler and they were accused of anti-Semitism with great credibility,” Avlon said. “And this president has adopted that mantle without any apparent caring of that legacy.”
21. MSNBC Analyst Nominates Trump Building For ISIS Bombing
MSNBC terrorism analyst Malcolm Nance tweeted in April 2017 that he wants to nominate President Donald Trump’s property in Turkey as the next location for a bombing by the Islamic State.
Malcolm Nance speaks onstage during Politicon 2018 at Los Angeles Convention Center on October 21, 2018 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Rich Polk/Getty Images for Politicon )
“This is my nominee for the first ISIS suicide bombing of a Trump property,” Nance tweeted and then deleted.
22. MSNBC’s Deutsch Calls Trump An ‘Evil, Evil Man’
Deutsch called the president an “evil man” in January after the president referred to certain countries as “shitholes.”
“This is just an evil, evil man,” Deutsch asserted. “Our president is not only racist, is not only stupid, is not only imbalanced, he is evil.”
23. CNN Guest Threatens To Gut Pro-Trump Panelist ‘Like A Fish’
Rick Wilson, a Never Trumper and frequent CNN guest, threatened to gut fellow panelist John Fredericks like a fish over his support for Trump in January.
“John, I will gut you like a fish on this show, if you want to keep this up. You don’t have a substantive argument,” Wilson declared after arguing about immigration with Fredericks.
24. Nicolle Wallace Told Jeb To Punch Trump In The Face
Wallace revealed in October that she once advised Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush to punch Trump in the face after Trump insulted his wife.
“I told Jeb Bush after the debate that I thought he should have punched him in the face. Even if you lost, he insulted your wife, he came down the escalator and called Mexicans rapists and murderers — he said, ‘What do you think I should have done?’ I said, ‘I think you should have punched him in the face and then gotten out of the race. You would have been a hero,'” Wallace said.
25. John Brennan Accuses Trump Of Treason
Former CIA Director and MSNBC contributor John Brennan said Trump is guilty of treason after his joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland.
Former CIA director John Brennan and former director of National Intelligence James Clapper arrive at a closed hearing before the Senate (Select) Intelligence Committee May 16, 2018 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
“Donald Trump’s press conference performance in Helsinki rises to & exceeds the threshold of ‘high crimes & misdemeanors,'” Brennan wrote on Twitter. “It was nothing short of treasonous. Not only were Trump’s comments imbecilic, he is wholly in the pocket of Putin. Republican Patriots: Where are you???”