In a recent development, Kate Bedingfield, a former communications director for the Biden White House and current CNN contributor, has been criticized for using what some perceive as violent rhetoric.
This comes in the wake of an attempted assassination on former President Donald Trump, which many believe was incited by such language.
Bedingfield was part of a panel discussing the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, as reported by The Blaze. During the discussion, Anderson Cooper, a CNN anchor, played a clip from President Joe Biden's recent interview with Lester Holt of NBC News. In the interview, Biden expressed his frustration with the media's focus on his perceived weaknesses rather than his opponent's alleged falsehoods.
"Why don't you guys ever talk about the 18 to 28 lies he told?" Biden asked Holt. "Where are you on this? Why didn't the press ever talk about that? 28 times. ... I had a bad, bad night. I wasn't feeling well at all. And I had been well, I'm not going to make any I screwed up."
Cooper questioned why Biden himself had not countered Trump's supposed lies during their debate. He also pointed out the recent polls that do not favor Biden. Bedingfield responded by emphasizing Biden's determination to stay in the race and suggested that Democrats should focus their efforts on Trump.
"So, at some point Democrats have to decide that they want to try to win this election and turn their fire on Donald Trump," Bedingfield said.
Realizing her choice of words could be construed as militaristic, especially in light of the recent attack on Trump, Bedingfield quickly apologized. "I shouldn't have said 'turn their fire.' I apologize," she said. "That was not the phrase that I meant. They need to turn their focus on Donald Trump."
The Trump campaign's "War Room" account highlighted Bedingfield's comments, pointing out the unfortunate timing of her remarks. Bedingfield responded by reiterating her apology and clarifying that she meant Democrats should focus on Trump, not attack him.
However, Richard Grenell, former Acting Director of U.S. National Intelligence, responded to Bedingfield's apology with a terse, "Not only in this moment."
While Bedingfield managed to avoid further controversy, other media outlets were not as cautious. The New York Times published an op-ed condemning Trump, stating, "He failed the tests of leadership and betrayed America. Voters must reject him."
The Times' editorial board described Trump as a man "as demonstrably unsuited for the office of president as any to run in the long history of the Republic, a man whose values, temperament, ideas and language are directly opposed to so much of what has made this country great."
The editorial went on to accuse Trump of disrespecting the Constitution, the rule of law, and the American people. It urged voters to recognize the dangers of a second Trump term and reject it.
Kathleen Kingsbury, the Times' opinions editor, insisted that the timing of the op-ed was coincidental and not related to the assassination attempt on Trump.
However, other commentators were more direct in their criticism of Trump. David Corn, an MSNBC analyst, and Adam Kinzinger, a CNN commentator and former Jan. 6 committee member, both emphasized that Trump remains a threat to American democracy.
Vox also published an article titled, "Yes, it's still fair to call Trump a threat to democracy." The article argued that Trump poses a threat to the norms of liberal democracy and the welfare of millions of US residents.
David Frum, a former George W. Bush speechwriter and Atlantic editor, joined the chorus of critics, likening the Trump movement to a fascist religion. He argued that Trump and his allies are enemies of law and democracy.
Login