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POLITICO Out With Truly Awful Take After Second Assassination Attempt Against Trump

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  September 16, 2024 8:30 PM

In recent months, POLITICO has put out some truly awful takes on the current political landscape, especially when it comes to the presidential race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. That also extends to their coverage of the assassination attempts against Trump, though, with the second having just taken place on Sunday.

On Sunday night, the outlet published a piece on how "Republicans outraged over possible assassination attempt: 'They are going to keep trying to kill Trump.'" The incident was already being treated as another attempt, though. 

It doesn't get any better from there. "Republicans two months ago turned the first assassination attempt against Donald Trump into a rallying cry. Now they’re responding to what could have been a second attempt with a mixture of defiance, outrage and unsubstantiated blame," the piece begins by mentioning. 

The article includes comments from Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) during an interview with Fox News, whose picture is included as the featured image. They also dare to call out Charlie Kirk's concerns that "[t]hey are going to keep trying to kill Trump as being "even more ominous" than Waltz's remarks. 

The piece also sought to downplay Sunday's attempt in comparison to the first attempt on Trump's life, which took place on July 13 at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. One man, Corey Comperatore, was killed at that rally, though POLITICO does not mention him by name. The article also finds the need to inject political discussion about November's presidential election:

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Trump, who was not injured on Sunday, became the target of a potential second shooter under markedly different circumstances than when a gunman opened fire in July at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, injuring the former president and two others and killing an attendee. There, a blood-splattered Trump rose from the ground with a fist in the air, the image of defiance cemented by his “fight, fight, fight” battle cry that echoed through his nominating convention the following week. Republicans, often so deeply fractured, nearly uniformly rallied to his side. Some even predicted that the assassination attempt had just sealed the election for Trump. And for a brief period, partisan bickering — and the presidential campaign itself — ground nearly to a halt before quickly returning to form.

...

But this time, there is no image of Trump as a near-martyr with which to rally the troops — just a photo posted to social media of Johnson and the former president both striking his signature thumbs-up pose. Trump has been politically weakened against a new opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris. And while Harris and President Joe Biden were briefed on the situation and expressed gratitude that Trump was safe, Democrats did not pause their campaign activities.

In the less than 24 hours than such a post from POLITICO's X account has been up, there have been close to 2,000 replies and over 300 quoted reposts. Grateful Calvin at our sister site of Twitchy highlighted some of the best examples, as many pointed out that everyone should be outraged.

Sunday night's article is not the only shameful display from POLITICO, though. Here's how Monday morning's Playbook weighed in on the latest assassination attempt:

But what’s also true is that 500 yards is too close for any would-be assassin to come with an assault rifle, and lawmakers are already asking how Routh managed to do it — especially after the Secret Service said it had enhanced its protections for Trump over the past two months.

...

On the left, the ugly takes ranged from bad jokes and suggestions that Trump reaped what he sowed to insinuations of an inside job. Together, they have helped field GOP outrage and finger-pointing, as Lisa Kashinsky and Mia McCarthy report. In one posting widely circulated by Trump campaign figures, progressive podcaster RACHEL VINDMAN (and wife of Trump impeachment witness ALEXANDER VINDMAN) downplayed the incident: “No ears were harmed. Carry on with your Sunday afternoon.”

The Hill also joined in on Monday when it comes to the "Republicans pounce" angle."GOP seethes after second apparent assassination attempt on Trump," read the headline. The outlet even thought it fitting to send out an email alert regarding such an article and post to their X account. 

Such a post has already been thoroughly ratioed in the minutes it's been up.