Megan Schneider
ONLINE REPORTER
A video showing a fake scene of President Trump stabbing, shooting and assaulting members of the media and his political rivals was shown last week at a conference to his supporters at the Trump National Doral Miami resort, according to the New York Times.
During his presidency, Trump frequently attacks the media in just about any way possible. Calling a journalist an “enemy of the people” is an extreme example of how the president’s war of words in regard to the media has continued to escalate over the years.
The president complains of “fake news” when reports and articles are released that he dislikes.
The unidentified creator of the morbid video is proclaimed to be a “red blooded American with ZERO tolerance for the liberal agenda,” according to New York Times article. The individual’s primary interest is to create pro-Trump content for the internet by remixing photos of the president into clips from movies and prominent television shows.
The context of the video is quite disturbing for people to see because it depicts a reality that is somewhat common in America today. Trump’s blatant disregard and ignorance toward the media during his campaign rallies and White House press briefings is alarming for journalists and media professionals who are simply doing their job.
CNN anchor Brooke Baldwin called out the president on her show when she said: “Mr. President, why is it taking you so long to condemn this video? You tweet all the time. I don’t want to hear from your press secretary who says you strongly condemn the video… I want to hear from you.”
Trump’s Twitter rants on a daily basis are unique to analyze because of how easy it is for the public to respond to his tweets instantaneously. Examining a few top responses from the official @POTUS Twitter account usually leads to people voicing their opinions and asking for a better solution in regard to the president’s statements.
White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a tweet that the president “strongly condemns this video.”
Re: the video played over the weekend: The @POTUS @realDonaldTrump has not yet seen the video, he will see it shortly, but based upon everything he has heard, he strongly condemns this video.
— Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) October 14, 2019
A logo for Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign and a series of internet memes is shown throughout the four-minute video. The clip was presented to a pro-Trump campaign group, American Priority, which celebrated free speech.
The most violent clip reveals Trump’s head on a superimposed image of a man shooting inside the “Church of Fake News” to parishioners who are his critics from various media outlets.
In the video, Trump was portrayed killing his political opponents like the late Senator John McCain, Hillary Clinton, Senator Bernie Sanders and former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
Former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., were among a list of Trump supporters who watched the video at the conference. They did not condone the cruelty shown in the video and weren’t aware that is played continuously in a room next to the Donald J. Trump Ballroom at the resort.
The creator’s goal of the gruesome video was to use “spicy memes” to help stir up the president and his outrage against his opponents, which resulted in coverage from the mainstream media to help deliver the message.
Meme creators and members of far-right community gathered at the White House for a social media meeting where the president celebrated content creators who worked with Dan Scavino, Trump’s social media director, to help create ideas that saved him money on advertising for his 2020 campaign.
Trump addressed the group when he said, “Some of you are extraordinary.”
The fake video is an example of how Trump’s comments about the media could incite violence against journalists.
YouTube said it was warned about the video and applied an age-restriction for viewers, but the video wasn’t removed, according to CNN.
“All Americans should condemn this depiction of violence directed toward journalists and the president’s political opponents,” said Jonathan Karl, President of the White House Correspondents’ Association in a tweet.
