Ben Shapiro Criticizes Media's Response to Trump Assassination Attempt

Ben Shapiro harshly criticized the mainstream media for its divisive rhetoric, which he believes contributed to the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. Shapiro addressed the issue during a special Sunday episode of the Ben Shapiro Show, condemning the media's portrayal of Trump as an existential threat to democracy.

“The actual story here is an entire political party an entire political side of the aisle geared around the idea that Donald Trump is a grave existential threat to democracy and then someone took that seriously, presumably, and tried to shoot the former president of the United States,” Shapiro stated.

He described the assassination attempt as “shocking but not surprising” and “one of the most predictable things to happen in American public life in my lifetime.”

Key Points:

• Media's Role: Shapiro blames media rhetoric for escalating tensions that led to the assassination attempt.

• Historical Context: Shapiro referenced past violent incidents, including the 2017 Congressional Baseball shooting and the 2022 plot against Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

• Criticism of Media Response: Shapiro lambasted the media’s reaction, especially CNN’s Jamie Gangel and CBS News’ Margaret Brennan, for their comments post-attack.

Shapiro noted the media’s tendency to label Trump as “literally Hitler” and warned of the consequences of such extreme language. “When you keep saying that ‘America will be literally destroyed, this will be the last election, Donald Trump is the worst person who has ever lived and he must be stopped,’ someone is going to take that seriously and think to themselves ‘shouldn’t I do something to stop Hitler?’” he explained.

Following the attack, Shapiro criticized CNN’s Jamie Gangel for attacking Trump after he stood up with blood on his face, pumping his fist while shouting “fight, fight, fight.” Shapiro’s response was blunt: “You pathetic, sad-sack a** clowns. Are you kidding me? Are you ‘effing kidding me? He’s the one who got shot. One of his supporters was murdered. He gets up and says ‘fight,’ on the basis of just almost getting murdered and your complaint is that his rhetoric is too heated?”

Shapiro also took issue with CBS News’ Margaret Brennan, who suggested that the attempt on Trump’s life might inspire retaliatory violence from Republicans. “Somebody almost killed the former president of the United States and Margaret Brennan’s first move is to suggest that this might inspire Republican violence,” he said. “It seems to me the problem is not Republican violence. It seems to me the problem is someone trying to shoot the former president of the United States and leading presidential contender.”

In closing, Shapiro encouraged his audience to support the family of Corey Comperatore, who was killed shielding his family during the attack, by donating to a GoFundMe set up in their honor.

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