It’s shocking enough to realize that we live in a country where not one, but two assassination attempts have been made on a former president and current presidential candidate.
What’s even more unsettling is how a significant portion of the American public seems disturbingly indifferent to it.
On Sunday, September 15, a deranged individual, identified as Ryan Routh, attempted to kill President Trump in Florida by pointing an assault rifle through a fence while Trump was at a golf course.
Secret Service agents spotted the threat and fired at Routh, but missed. He attempted to flee, but thanks to a vigilant civilian bystander, he was tracked down.
On Monday, September 16, Trump addressed the nation via X (formerly Twitter), thanking the bystander and praising the Secret Service for their quick action.
“The civilian did a phenomenal job,” Trump wrote on X. “How many people would have the brainpower to follow him to the back of his truck?”
As the news of the attempt spread, the mainstream media appeared torn on how to handle it—report it truthfully, downplay it, or, as expected, blame Trump himself.
Disturbingly, many chose to blame Trump, engaging in what psychologists call “narcissistic reversal.”
This tactic involves turning the truth on its head, making the victim seem responsible for the attack.
The left-wing media is treating Trump the same way they criticize victim-blaming when it involves women or minorities.
NBC’s anchor Lester Holt provided a particularly egregious example of this, as he subtly cast doubt on Trump’s innocence in the situation.
The X account “End Wokeness” highlighted one of the worst responses to the incident: an editorial letter published by Cincinnati.com titled, “Trump brings these assassination attempts on himself.”
And then there’s “The Hill,” who thought the real story was Republicans being angry over their candidate nearly being murdered for the second time.
Politico wasn’t much different:
The Atlantic’s Tom Nichols chimed in to argue that people wanting to kill Trump proves he shouldn’t be president.
The Washington Post initially reported on the assassination attempt as a “golf course episode,” while the New York Times reported “shots fired at Florida course,” and NBC called it the “Trump golf course incident.”
