CNSNews.com embraced the tactics of its Media Research Center parent in the aftermath of the El Paso and Dayton massacres: deflect and distract from any thought that President Trump’s overheated anti-immigrant rhetoric is any sort of a problem.
The first article CNS did was not about the shootings themselves but, rather, a blog post by Craig Bannister on Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick using a Fox News appearance to warn Antifa protesters not to come to El Paso — despite the fact that, as a real news outlet reported, he was not asked about Antifa and was apparently referencing a right-wing news article that was later corrected to admit it had no actual evidence Antifa would come to El Paso.
Bannister followed up with some serious Trump deflecting, repeating a tweet from “conservative commentator and Blexit leader Candice Owens” playing another MRC distraction card by highlighting that “The Ohio shooter was a self-described socialist and Elizabeth Warren fan” but “we don’t blame anyone but the shooter” and that anyone blaming Trump’s rhetoric for the El Paso shooting was a “coward.” Bannister concluded with a plug for Owens, declaring that “Owens’ Blexit movement seeks to bring conservative values to America’s inner cities.” CNS loves to serve as Owens’ stenographer and censors news of her controversies, like the time she said that Hitler would have been cool if he had just stayed in Germany.
Susan Jones contributed some stenography from White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, claiming that it isn’t fair to blame Trump’s rhetoric for the El Paso shooting because it’s a “social issue.” Jones also framed criticism of Trump as “Trump hatred,” beginning an article on Joe Scarborough’s criticism of Trump with the claim “Trump hatred flows daily on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” especially on this particular Monday morning.”
Managing editor Michael W. Chapman played the Chicago distraction card in one politically malicious blog post:
In addition to the horrific shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio over the weekend, 51 people were shot in Chicago and seven of the victims died, reported ABC 7. This follows several weekends in the Windy City in which dozens of people were shot, including the July 12-15 weekend in which 56 people were shot and 11 died.
However, the liberal media did not express nationwide outrage over that gun violence and politicians did not blame President Doanld Trump for the violence.
Chapman followed that up with a post invoking Mother Teresa, which may or may not have to do with reaction to the massacres:
It is a simple moral question: Do you support the murder of children by abortion, yes or no? If you say yes, then anything goes. For if it is okay to kill a baby in the womb, then it is okay to do anything. You cannot say something is wrong, if child-murder is right. This is bottom-of-the-barrel morality.
American liberals and their allies in the media support abortion on demand. Their faith, sexual liberty, means — if it comes to it — that they are willing to kill in order to have sex. No baby will get in the way of their freedom. And we wonder why many young people today seem so indifferent about the value of human life.
But when Trump made a short speech reacting to the massacres, CNS was in full stenography mode, devoting a whopping four articles to it:
- Trump Condemns ‘Racism, Bigotry, and White Supremacy;’ Calls for Bipartisan Solutions
- Trump: ‘I Am Open and Ready to Listen and Discuss All Ideas’ to End Mass Shootings
- Trump: ‘Choose to Build a Culture that Celebrates the Inherent Worth and Dignity of Every Human Life’
- Trump: ‘We Are a Loving Nation’
Why couldn’t CNS have combined all four of these short items into a single, longer article? It’s a mystery.
From there, CNS served up more pro-Trump tweet stenography: one article weirdly attacking Beto O’Rourke for having a nickname (one of CNS’ favorite bugaboos), and another whose headline says it all: “Trump Slams ‘Sleepy Joe,’ Joaquin Castro, Democrats, Sen. Brown, Mayor Nan Whaley, MSNBC, CNN…“
Finally, Patrick Goodenough complained that United Nations experts were making an “implicit attack on President Trump” by stating that politicians who use hateful rhetoric should be considered complicit in crimes that follow. Goodenough went into spin mode, highlighting a statement in the El Paso shooter’s manifesto that his anti-immigrant views “predate Trump and his campaign for president.”