Trump is now blaming the media for the recent attempted bombings, and HOW?

On October 24th, news broke that pipe bombs had been sent to several prominent liberal figures, including Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and news outlet CNN. President Donald Trump’s initial response to the attempted attacks was a call for unity, but it didn’t take long before he abandoned the “come together” narrative. At a campaign rally that same evening, the president returned to his familiar strategy of bashing the media.

The New York Times reports that Trump began his remarks at a Wisconsin campaign rally by urging Americans to “come together in peace and harmony.” However, he still managed to fit in partisan jabs at his opponents, saying, “we should not mob people in public spaces,” alluding to protesters who have heckled Republican government figures in public.

Trump then called on the media to "set a civil tone" and to "stop the endless hostility and constant negative and often false attacks and stories."

He also seemingly refused to refer to Obama and Clinton—the clear targets of the recent attacks—by name. Then, in an early-morning tweet on October 25th, the president doubled down on his attacks on the media, once again decrying “fake news.”

"A very big part of the Anger we see today in our society is caused by the purposely false and inaccurate reporting of the Mainstream Media that I refer to as Fake News," he wrote. "It has gotten so bad and hateful that it is beyond description. Mainstream Media must clean up its act, FAST!"

https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/1055418269270716418

Obviously, Trump’s “logic” is severely flawed, and it seems he’s only using these recent events to further promote his agenda. In response to the president’s latest comments, several people—including former CIA director John Brennan, the intended recipient of the CNN bomb—called out the president for trying to cast blame on the press while he himself has condoned the use of violence.

Meanwhile, certain conservative circles have also been spreading the conspiracy theory that the bombs were fake, using the hashtag #DemocratBombHoax. false false

During a press conference on the 25th, CNN reported that Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders dismissed the notion that Trump was partly to blame, saying he has “condemned violence in all forms, has done that since day one.”

"The President is certainly not responsible for sending suspicious packages to someone," she told reporters. "No more than Bernie Sanders was responsible for a supporter of his shooting up a Republican baseball field practice."

Using the “fake news” media as a scapegoat is a common trick of Trump’s, but it feels especially inappropriate after CNN received an actual bomb. The president should unequivocally condemn the recent attempted attacks—period.

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