There is no shortage of bad and heartless takes after the second assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. There were many media outlets that completely whitewashed the attempted assassination while some talking heads argued Trump brought it on himself, ignoring the fact that Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden routinely call for Trump to be eliminated. But amid all these distasteful reactions from the media, one stood out—in a good way.
Telling viewers he really struggled with what to say about the latest attempted assassination, NewsNation host Chris Cuomo says he ultimately decided to pick up the phone and call Trump.
“I just wasn’t getting anywhere,” he said. “So I called former President Trump. I didn’t ask him any questions. I didn’t go after him about his role. I just wanted to know how his family’s taking this, because I grew up like that. I grew up worried about who was going to try to hurt my father.”
Cuomo made clear that while he is not a fan of Trump’s policies, the former president deserved an apology for how the media is responding to the threats against him.
“You can think what you want about Trump,” Cuomo continued. “He doesn’t have many more full-throated critics of what he says and does than me. OK? And yet, I called him today because I am ashamed of how we are responding and not responding to the threats on him. And I feel for his family. You can roll your eyes and say, ‘Oh yeah, he asked for it.’ Listen, that’s your choice, and I think it’s the wrong choice. We got to get out of the judgment business unless it's judging ourselves."
Cuomo went on to praise Trump’s bravery for not letting such threats against him change his public life.
“What is going on with us? I don’t get it. That’s why I reached out to Trump. I wanted to just say, ‘Listen. I’m really sorry that this is going on and it’s being dealt with this way.’ Not because I’m in favor of his politics — or what he says, I criticize him all the time. That’s my job and he deserves it. But he doesn’t deserve this. A guy points an AK-47 at him while he’s playing golf? And we take solace in the fact that the guy didn’t get any rounds off? That does not work for me.
“If I had been through what that guy has been through in the last two months, you would not know where I am. You would never see me on TV again. No way I would do that. I don't know how he does it,” Cuomo wondered. “He’s got kids...he's got grandkids, he's got a wife. And people are giving crap to Melania Trump, worrying about whether or not there was a plot around her husband. How could she not? ... People mock her? And then her husband has a guy pointed with an AK-47. Where are those people apologizing? That's what it's time for."
The former CNN host called for a lowering of the temperature, particularly in the media.
“We are playing a dangerous game with ourselves, and we’re doing it for petty stakes,” he said. "And this can be broken. What we have can be broken. And no, not by Trump. He is not a despot-in-waiting. I don’t buy it."
I’ve criticized @ChrisCuomo before but what he did here responding to another assassination attempt is what every member of the media and the Democratic Party should have done after the first and second attempts to kill Trump.pic.twitter.com/dhoGJSZ7zW
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) September 17, 2024