Lester Holt Points Finger at Trump and Vance for Second Assassination Plot

NBC News anchor Lester Holt wasted no time pointing the finger at former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance (R-OH), following the second assassination attempt on Trump in just eight weeks. Rather than focus on the severity of the threat, Holt instead blamed Trump and Vance for the so-called “heated rhetoric” surrounding their comments on the migrant crisis in Ohio.

Holt's accusation came just hours after U.S. Secret Service agents stopped a would-be assassin. Without evidence, Holt linked the attempt on Trump’s life to remarks the two Republicans made about the influx of Haitian migrants into a small Ohio town. “Today’s apparent assassination attempt comes amid increasingly fierce rhetoric on the campaign trail itself,” Holt stated. “Mr. Trump, his running mate JD Vance continue to make baseless claims about Haitian immigrants in Ohio.”

• Holt’s comments mirrored similar accusations made by CNN’s Dana Bash and CBS’s Margaret Brennan, who suggested that Vance and Trump were responsible for the threats against local hospitals and schools in Ohio.

• Notably absent from their analysis was any mention of the legitimate concerns raised by Ohioans impacted by the surge in immigration or the escalating crime that comes with it.

• Instead, the media seemed more interested in pushing the narrative that Republicans are to blame for the rising tension, while ignoring the inflammatory rhetoric coming from prominent Democrats.

Senator Vance hit back, defending the concerns of his constituents and challenging the biased framing by CNN’s Bash. He called her tone more fitting for a “Democratic propagandist” than a fair-minded journalist, underlining how media outlets often twist legitimate criticisms into a narrative that suits the left's agenda.

While Holt and his colleagues rushed to tie Trump and Vance to violent rhetoric, they conveniently overlooked the divisive language coming from Democratic leaders like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). Jeffries, for instance, recently posted on social media, “Extreme MAGA Republicans are the party of a national abortion ban and Trump’s Project 2025. We must stop them.” His subsequent remark, “Political violence has no place in a democratic society,” seemed hollow given the inflammatory nature of his prior comments.

The hypocrisy is glaring. The mainstream media continues to amplify baseless claims against Republicans while downplaying or ignoring the incendiary rhetoric coming from the left. Holt’s attempt to link a potential assassination attempt to Trump’s and Vance’s concerns about the migrant crisis in Ohio is just the latest example of how the press selectively holds Republicans accountable for rising tensions, while giving Democrats a free pass.

At a time when political violence should be universally condemned, the media’s selective outrage only serves to deepen the partisan divide. Americans deserve better than journalists who push political agendas under the guise of fair reporting.

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