Media Instantly Blame Trump For Maryland Shooting: 'Blood Is On Your Hands, Mr. President'

Patrick Hauf | June 29, 2018
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Members of the media immediately began blaming President Trump and his supporters for the deadly shooting at a local newspaper building in Annapolis on Thursday, well before any of the facts had emerged.

Reuters editor Rob Cox tweeted, “This is what happens when @realDonaldTrump calls journalists the enemy of the people. Blood is on your hands, Mr. President. Save your thoughts and prayers for your empty soul.”

After receiving backlash for the tweet, Cox deleted it and issued an apology.

“I am sorry for my comments, which I quickly deleted and have disavowed, and especially remorseful if they did anything to distract from the thoughts and love we must send to the community of Annapolis,” Cox said.

But the Reuters editor was not alone in his instantaneous blaming of the president.

One MSNBC panelist, Clint Watts, pointed to the country’s supposed “hatred towards the media.”

“It is a unique time in our country’s history; we have open hatred towards the media, fake news, this is the era of it," Watts said. "We hear lots of discussion about it. We had a figure just show up in the last 48 hours, I believe, that said they would be excited if vigilante squads would shoot down reporters essentially on site,” he continued.

Former MSNBC host and current Young Turks host Cenk Uygur tweeted that Trump “has blood on his hands.”

Uygur was one of many to use this phrase when referencing the president, as Yahoo’s Mike Williams also tweeted it.

Williams even claimed Melania Trump was “complicit” in the shooting.

Laura Duca of Teen Vogue claimed the tragedy cannot be separated from Trump’s rhetoric.

Mikko Alanne of National Geographic said the shooting was a “direct consequence” of President Trump and the Republican party.

Others put the blame on the conservatives in general, citing their criticism of the press.  


Police later reported that the shooter's motive didn't appear to be political at all, but rather stemmed from an ongoing feud he'd had with the Capital Gazette since 2011. He also appeared to be a very mentally unhinged man who'd reportedly stalked at least one woman for over a year.

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