CNN, which fancies itself as the most trusted name in news, responded to the attempted assassination of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh as one might expect from a news network that cares more about protecting The Narrative™ than reporting the news.
Even though it had been widely reported that the suspect (an abortion fanatic motivated by the leaked draft majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization) was armed with multiple weapons, including a gun, a knife, and even pepper spray, CNN’s law enforcement correspondent Whitney Wild attempted to downplay the attempted assassination, in part by denying the suspect had any weapons on him.
“Very little detail at this point,” CNN correspondent Whitney Wild told host Kate Bolduan. “We don’t yet know what the nature of the threat was. We don’t know what language the threat was or what kind of weapon this man might have had. If he had one at all, because the information at this point is just so thin.”
Wild continued, “But Kate, this — this certainly contributes to this overall threat landscape we’ve been talking a lot about. The major concern here with this abortion ruling from federal officials — and they have been sounding the alarm on this for about a month — is that Supreme Court justices will certainly be, you know, potentially targeted by violent extremists who are angered over this pending ruling that is poised to strike down Roe v. Wade.”
The problem is that Wild likely knew at this point that the suspect was armed with multiple weapons. While she was questioning whether he had any weapons at all, the chyron on the screen unambiguously stated, “Man with weapon detained near Justice Kavanaugh’s home.” Other networks had also earlier reported that the suspect had a gun, knife, and pepper spray on him and that he had told law enforcement he planned to kill Justice Kavanaugh.
Wild would beclown herself even further when she tried to spread the blame to “both sides.”
“This is an extremely passionate issue,” Wild said. “There are emotions on both sides. Federal officials have made clear over and over they believe the risk truly comes from both sides of this abortion debate. So, certainly this case, you know, really solidifying what federal officials have been warning about: People are angry, they might seek to use the abortion ruling as justification to cause violence and puts Supreme Court justices, their staff, and other members of the judiciary, especially the Supreme Court at risk.”
CNN’s Whitney Wild tries to deny that the man arrested trying to assassinate Justice Kavanaugh had a weapon “at all.”
She also tries to blame right-wing extremists for possibly trying to carry out the hit, claiming “the risk truly comes from both sides of this abortion debate” pic.twitter.com/fFYKYTA46G— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) June 8, 2022
This is not the first time CNN has tried to push the narrative that the right is to blame (partially or in full) for threats of violence against the Court. Last month, CNN’s Alex Marquardt claimed that the U.S. Capitol Police were “bracing for large demonstrations that are being organized by far-right groups to protest abortion rights,” and asked Wild what law enforcement officials were concerned about.
“Well, the major risk here based on the conversations I have had with several members of law enforcement throughout the week is that there is a very real concern here that people who are committed to committing acts of violent extremism could use the Roe v. Wade opinion as justification for that,” she replied. “And that could include the possibility that someone would commit an act of violence against abortion providers, against the clinics, against members of the judiciary, members of the federal government, and that also includes members of the Supreme Court.”
Earlier this week, it was revealed that CNN brass is looking into axing partisan talent to make their coverage less polarizing. Would such a thing even be possible at this point? Seriously, wouldn’t they just have to fire everyone?