The Public Broadcasting System may have quit Twitter over being called “government-funded media,” but its one-sided coverage of American politics continues to demonstrate why it has justly earned the label.
On Tuesday, following the historic arraignment of former President Donald Trump on federal charges, to which he has pleaded ‘not guilty,’ PBS gave an unnecessary warning to the audience that served to discredit the speaker and reduce the credibility of his arguments to the American public.
“Look at what PBS posted at the bottom of Trump’s speech,” the commenter Gays for Trump pointed out on Twitter.
“Experts warn that inflammatory rhetoric from elected officials or people in power can prompt individual actors to commit acts of violence,” PBS editorialized.
Donald Trump has contested the 2020 election with accusations that it was “rigged.” The former president made the argument considering that states changed their election rules over Covid, in some cases without going through constitutional procedures; private actors pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into blue districts; and questions about counting millions of mass mail-in ballots.
But no matter one’s views about Trump’s arguments, it is the right of the American people to hear them. They had to hear them from Al Gore. They had to hear them from Maxine Waters. They had to hear them from Hillary Clinton. Repeatedly. And nobody censored them a single time, let alone put an insulting graphic over their speech.
Trump was cleared of having anything to do with ‘inciting a riot’ on January 6 with his trial in the U.S. Senate. The House Democrats selectively edited videos and texts in order to make unjust accusations against a former president who had explicitly told his audience to ‘peacefully and patriotically make your voices known.’
There is far more compelling evidence that President Joe Biden is at least partly to blame for the rising political vitriol in the country amidst the intentional killing of a Trump supporter following an especially incendiary speech.
Biden: “Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic.”#soulofthenation pic.twitter.com/lSHgmc4SKD
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) September 2, 2022
Following the Biden speech, a North Dakota man confessed to intentionally hitting a teenager with his SUV in McHenry, North Dakota. The incident occurred in an alley early Sunday morning and followed a heated political debate between the two parties involved.
Shannon Brandt, a 41-year-old resident of North Dakota, admitted to running over 18-year-old Cayler Ellingson in what appears to be a tragic outcome of a political disagreement. According to Brandt, he believed that Ellingson was affiliated with a Republican “extremist group,” although he had no evidence.
In the aftermath of the incident, conservatives pointed out Biden suggesting that Trump supporters represent an “extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic.”
“Words can have violent consequences,” Kentucky Republican Rand Paul, who was the victim of political violence along with his wife outside the 2020 RNC. “President Biden needs to realize that his vilification of his opponents is inflaming some of his supporters to violence. As a victim of political violence, both sides need to recognize the consequences of heated rhetoric.”
Then there is the case of a Bernie Sanders supporter shooting Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) at a Congressional baseball game in 2017. The shooter, identified as James Hodgkinson, was apprehended at the scene but later succumbed to his injuries.
Then-House Majority Whip Steve Scalise was among those injured in a mass shooting, along with several congressional aides and two police officers, who sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
Prior to the shooting, Hodgkinson approached then-Representative Ron DeSantis of Florida to inquire about the political affiliation of the team practicing, whether they were Republicans or Democrats. It was revealed that Hodgkinson was a supporter of Senator Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign in 2016. Further investigation into the incident uncovered social media posts and letters written by Hodgkinson to a local newspaper. Some of these communications included demands for then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to withdraw from the race.
Keith Ellison, the Democratic attorney general of Minnesota, tweeted about the allegations that Sanders’ supporters have attacked those who disagree with them.
“I have never seen Bernie Sanders supporters being unusually mean or rude. Can someone send me an example of a ‘Bernie Bro’ being bad. Also, are we holding all candidates responsible for the behavior of some of their supporters? Waiting to hear,” Ellison wrote.
“I can think of an example,” Scalise replied the following day.
I can think of an example. https://t.co/KwuvyYgyGw
— Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) February 20, 2020
PBS’ producers may think they’re slick with their cherry-picked smear of Donald Trump at a time when the American people have the right to hear their former president’s defense.
But they’re not. It’s just another case of why PBS has become nothing more than state-run media.
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OPINION: This article contains commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
Source: Becker News Rephrased By: InfoArmed