There’s no love lost between the American people and the mainstream media, and Republican congressman Greg Gianforte is the proof.
On the eve of his victory in Montana’s special election in May, Gianforte “body slammed” Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs – and afterward Gianforte’s campaign raked in more than $116,000 in donations:
The report from the Federal Election Committee shows that the day after the incident, Gianforte’s campaign brought more donation money than it had in the prior five days combined, including 25 donations of the maximum $2,700 allowed by law from an individual to a given candidate. For perspective, the day before the assault, Gianforte had received two such maximum donations. The day before that, he received none. In total, the campaign collected more than $116,000 after the attack.
Jacobs reportedly tried to ask Gianforte about the Republican health care plan before the assault occurred. Listen to audio of the incident below:
Jacobs was quick to broadcast the incident:
Greg Gianforte just body slammed me and broke my glasses
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) May 24, 2017
“He took me to the ground,” Jacobs said by phone from the back of an ambulance. “I think he whaled on me once or twice … He got on me and I think he hit me … This is the strangest thing that has ever happened to me in reporting on politics.”
The assault was witnessed by several other people, including Fox News reporter Alicia Acuna. She later corroborated Jacobs’s account of the incident:
[…] Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him. Faith, Keith and I watched in disbelief as Gianforte then began punching the reporter. As Gianforte moved on top of Jacobs, he began yelling something to the effect of, “I’m sick and tired of this!”
Reading Acuna’s entire account, it seems that Jacobs barged uninvited into a room where a Fox News crew was preparing to interview Gianforte for an election edition of “Special Report with Bret Baier.” Gianforte subsequently became annoyed when Jacobs pushed a voice recorder in his face and continued to press him even after Gianforte said he would answer his questions later. However, Acuna contends that “at no point did any of us who witnessed this assault see Jacobs show any form of physical aggression toward Gianforte.”
I’m not saying Gianforte should have physically attacked the guy, but I can’t really say I blame him for getting frustrated, either — and evidently it all worked to his benefit. Again: the media doesn’t have the best interests of regular Americans in mind, so it’s really no surprise that regular Americans jumped to donate to Gianforte when he literally took out a member of the media.
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As for Gianforte, he was charged with a small fine and community service after pleading guilty to misdemeanor assault. He also issued an apology and agreed to donate $50,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists; but that leaves more than $50,000 in remaining donations to roll over to his 2018 re-election campaign. He’s undoubtedly earned himself some votes.
Would you donate to or vote for Greg Gianforte because of this? Share your thoughts below!
