We’ve been saying it for years. Every single time some talking head on CNN compared Trump to Hitler, every time a blue-check journalist casually mused about “what if someone just…” — we said this would happen. We said some unhinged radical would take the bait. And now we have the polling receipts that prove the rest of America was paying attention too.
But sure, let’s hear the talking heads at CNN, MSNBC, and NBC explain how the media is actually the *victim* here. Nothing says “we’re the good guys” like inspiring a shooting and then complaining about the backlash.
New polling data dropped this weekend — fresh off the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting that sent shockwaves through Washington — and the numbers are absolutely devastating for the corporate press. Voters, by significant margins, blame the media for inspiring the assassination attempt. Six in ten voters think it’s likely that negative news media coverage of President Donald Trump inspired the assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, according to a new national Rasmussen survey finds.
Of U.S. likely voters polled April 27-29 following the attack, 60% think it’s at least “somewhat likely” that the media calling Trump a fascist, comparing him to Hitler and such inspired the California man to try to assassinate the President – including 41% who call it “very likely.” In contrast, just 13% consider it “not at all likely.”
The poll question read: “How likely is it that negative news media coverage of Trump inspired this assassination attempt?”
Very Likely: 41% Somewhat Likely: 19% Not Very Likely: 16% Not at All Likely: 13% Not Sure: 11%
Despite the left-wing media’s insistence they are not to blame. 55% of Democrat voters say it’s likely that media’s hostility towards President Trump inspired the assassination attempt, with far more saying it’s “very likely” (28%) than calling it “somewhat” (17%) so.
Nearly 80% of Republican voters believe the media instigated the attack, including 58% who think it’s very likely the media are to blame. While, 59% of “other” voters attribute the attack to the influence of the media.
Broken down by race, Hispanics overwhelmingly believe the President was attacked due to the media’s “Trump is literally Hitler” bs, as 76% say it’s at least somewhat likely and 52% say it’s “very likely.” The majority of Blacks and Whites believe it too, with six in ten reporting they consider the media’s coverage of the President at least somewhat likely to blame for the attack.
This isn’t some right-wing push poll from a think tank nobody’s heard of. This is mainstream polling showing that regular Americans — independents, moderates, even some Democrats — have connected the dots between four years of “Trump is an existential threat to democracy” coverage and a guy showing up with a gun.
You know what’s wild? The media spent the entire Trump era telling us that words have consequences. They deplatformed people for “dangerous speech.” They banned accounts for “incitement.” They lectured us endlessly about how rhetoric leads to violence.
Turns out they were right. They just didn’t realize they were describing themselves.
Think about what the average American has absorbed from mainstream media since 2015. Trump is Hitler. His supporters are fascists. MAGA is a cult. Democracy will literally end. If he wins, people will die. This isn’t democracy, it’s an emergency. By any means necessary.
And then someone acted on it. And the media’s response? “Well, we never explicitly told anyone to shoot anybody.” That’s your defense? That’s the standard? Because I seem to remember a very different standard being applied when a bunch of grandmas walked through velvet ropes on January 6th.
The hypocrisy isn’t even the worst part. The worst part is that they’re still doing it. Even after the shooting, even after these polls, the same outlets are running the same playbook. They haven’t learned a thing because they don’t want to learn. The dehumanization of half the country is a business model, not a mistake.
The numbers on media are even more damning — and remarkably bipartisan. Nearly three in four voters (73%) say the way the news media covers politics is actively dividing the country. That’s not a right-wing talking point. That’s 71% of Democrats, 75% of Republicans, and 75% of unaffiliated voters all agreeing that the press is tearing us apart. Only 11% of all voters think the media is making the country more united. Eleven percent. The media’s approval rating among its own audience is roughly on par with head lice.
And the violence numbers are worse. Seven in ten voters (71%) say political violence in America is getting worse — compared to just 8% who think it’s improving. Another 17% say things are about the same, which is its own kind of grim. By party, 78% of Democrats, 68% of Republicans, and 67% of unaffiliated voters all see the trend heading in the wrong direction. When the coalition of people who agree on something includes nearly eight in ten Democrats, you’re not looking at a partisan talking point. You’re looking at a national verdict.
The media did this. The voters know it. And no amount of panel discussions about “threats to journalism” is going to make that reality go away.
Welcome to accountability. It’s long overdue.