Trump speaks
President Donald Trump walks to board Marine One on the White House lawn on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert )
Before his trip to Alamo, Texas, on Tuesday, President Trump took a moment to speak to reporters — his first comments directly to the media since last week’s violent and deadly break-in at the Capitol.
Chuck Todd, host of “MTP Daily” on MSNBC, told viewers, “We, of course, are not going to play his comments due to concerns that he will be used as a rallying cry for bad actors to support him and his name. But the president, as you’d expect, was defiant and some might wonder if he was a bit deranged.”
CNN, however, did play a portion of Trump’s comments, in which he took no responsibility for inciting the crowd to storm the Capitol. He said his speech has been analyzed in the media and that “people” thought it was “totally appropriate.” Trump then said comments made by other politicians during what Trump called “riots” over the summer were a “real problem.”
CNN anchor Brooke Baldwin said, “So, to recap here, taking accountability? Nope. Continuing to sow division? Yep. Deflecting blame? Check.”
At his speech in Texas, Trump stuck mostly to immigration. However, he did say, “I’d like to briefly address the events of last week. Millions of our citizens watched on Wednesday as a mob stormed the Capitol and trashed the halls of government. As I have consistently said throughout my administration, we believe in respecting America’s history and traditions, not tearing them down.”
But then he complained about being muted by social media, saying, “Free speech is under assault,” and said that he was not worried about the 25th Amendment while attacking Joe Biden.
Interestingly, his speech was at the same time the FBI was giving an update on its investigation into what happened at the Capitol last week. CNN, MSNBC and Fox News aired the FBI news conference, while Newsmax aired the Trump speech.
Disturbing tweet of the day
Check out this tweet by Washington Post reporter Katie Mettler:
“Yesterday I went shopping for a new winter coat that would fit over a bulletproof vest so I can safely (and warmly) cover the inauguration of the next president of the United States. What an absolutely absurd sentence to write.”
What about the inauguration?
After what happened last week, and the chatter online and elsewhere that authorities are tracking, there is a fear that there could be more violence next week during Joe Biden’s inauguration.
Should the inauguration go forward exactly as it has in the past — on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol, where all the problems were last week?
Appearing on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” NBC News presidential historian Michael Beschloss said, “I say safety first. If we have to inaugurate Biden and Harris in an underground cavern that’s guarded to be safe, let’s do that. Let’s not take any risks with our incoming president and vice president just for the sake of symbolism.”
Calling out the media
Mehdi Hasan, MSNBC political analyst and host of “The Mehdi Hasan Show” on Peacock, called out the media for enabling President Trump during his four years in office.
Hasan said, “It was clear from day one that a Trump presidency would be authoritarian, bigoted, serially dishonest, outside the bounds of any previous modern presidency. It was clear that we shouldn’t normalize him. But we did.”
Oh yeah, there’s this, too
A sign covers the back window of a car in Denver this week. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Normally, the impeachment of a president would be the biggest news story in the world. It’s still a big deal, but it’s just one of what feels like a dozen stories overwhelming us at the moment.
Here are some thoughts from around the country.
Politico’s Sarah Ferris and Heather Caygle with “Inside Pelosi’s Push to Impeach Trump: This Time It’s Personal.”
The New York Times editorial board with “Impeach Trump Again.”
Washington Post opinion columnist Marc A. Thiessen with “Pelosi is Playing Politics with Impeachment, but Trump Committed an Impeachable Offense.”
CNN’s Zachary B. Wolf with “How Trump’s Second Impeachment Will Be Different From The First.”
Powerful moment
This is a tough video to watch, but check out a very real and heartbreaking moment as CNN’s Sara Sidner breaks down while reporting on the coronavirus from a hospital in California.
“This is the 10th hospital that I’ve been in …” Sidner says as she begins to cry.
After apologizing and starting over a couple of times, Sidner continues crying and says, “To see these families have to live after this and the heartache that goes so far and so wide … it’s really hard to take.”
She apologized again to CNN host Alisyn Camerota, who told Sidner, “No apology needed.”
There’s much more to this. Please watch. It’s powerful stuff.
Sticking up for photojournalists
The National Press Photographers Association released a statement condemning the attacks at the Capitol last week, saying, “The NPPA calls on authorities to investigate and prosecute the threats, harassment and physical assaults against journalists as well as the destruction and theft of their equipment that occurred on January 6, 2021.”
During an FBI press conference about the insurrection last week, acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Michael Sherwin said, “Some of those rioters specifically targeted members of the media and assaulted them.” He added that specific prosecutors have been assigned to those cases.
Back to the NPPA statement. It also said, “To do our jobs, photojournalists must be on the front lines to record the news. The threats, violence and aggression toward visual journalists are unconscionable acts that erode our democracy and our country’s First Amendment rights.”
Freelance photographer Amanda Andrade-Rhoades, who was on the scene, told the NPPA, “I had three different people threaten to shoot me over the course of the day. They weren’t armed as far as I could tell. I saw people with knives and pepper spray. If they had guns, I couldn’t see them. But I did see people in flak jackets and bulletproof vests, so clearly ready for armed combat. At one point, a guy leaned over to me and said, ‘I’m coming back with a gun tomorrow and I’m coming for you.’”
That’s just one of several examples of photojournalists and other media members being threatened or attacked last week by the mob.
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