Late last night, someone called in a bomb threat to CNN’s New York City headquarters, prompting an evacuation of the network’s staff.
Bomb threat and evacuation at CNN
The bomb threat interrupted CNN’s live coverage, which quickly had to adjust:
The liberal media was quick to blame President Trump’s tough rhetoric for the threat, specifically a tweet he posted seemingly right before CNN was evacuated.
FAKE NEWS – THE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 7, 2018
This is far from the first time Trump’s gruff language has been blamed for violence. And it’s not even the first time he’s been blamed for a bomb scare. (RELATED: Media, Without Evidence, Blames President Trump for Bomb Scares to Prominent Democrats.)
Media blames Trump for bomb threat
Some media organizations took the timing of Trump’s tweet to immediately blame him for the threat to CNN. Here’s the uber-liberal site Vox pushing the same line:
CNN receives bomb threat on same night as Trump’s latest attack on media as “the enemy of the people” https://t.co/VqEqvhTYfa
— Vox (@voxdotcom) December 7, 2018
And a writer for Rolling Stone:
One minute after someone dialed 911 to report Thursday night’s bomb threat to the @CNN New York office, Trump happened to tweet: “FAKE NEWS — ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!” This president remains a danger both to public safety and national security. Nothing to add. https://t.co/VbFexyetfz
— Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith) December 7, 2018
And Newsweek’s coverage:
“Trump Tweet Calls Media ‘Enemy of the People’ During CNN Bomb Threat” – https://t.co/vstUgotiLW
— Craig Rozniecki (@CraigRozniecki) December 7, 2018
You get the idea.
Brian Stelter Says Trump isn’t to blame but finds a way to cast blame anyway
But here’s the thing: CNN’s top media analyst says Trump’s tweet isn’t to blame.
Brian Stelter, host of “Reliable Sources” on CNN, reports in his evening email that Trump’s tweet came after the initial bomb threat and had little to do with the motivation behind the caller. He writes:
Between the time of the phoned-in threat, 9:47, and the time of the evacuation, @realDonaldTrump tweeted, “FAKE NEWS – THE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!”So if you thought this specific tweet was a trigger for the threat, think again. But the broader climate of attacks against the news media is undeniable.
Normally we don’t cover bomb threats. Last night was different. Here’s why, detailed in an A.M. edition of @ReliableSources: https://t.co/l6P8DJGCsK pic.twitter.com/d08iuCAuFU
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) December 7, 2018
Key quote: “So if you thought this specific tweet was a trigger for the threat, think again.”
Just to be clear: Stelter is no fan of Trump. He regularly criticizes his war of words with the media. And even here, he offers a backhanded explanation, saying Trump’s tweet isn’t to blame for this particular threat, but his words in general are a threat to the media.
Even after saying Trump’s tweet by itself is blameless, he still blames Trump general attitude toward the press, which, of course, can’t be proven and thus goes uncontested.
The lesson: To the media, it’s always Trump’s fault. Even when it isn’t.
