David Zurawik: I’m Not Totally Blaming Trump, But His Rhetoric is ‘Large Factor’ in Media Attacks Amid Protests

Baltimore Sun media critic David Zurawik said President Donald Trump deserves at least partial blame for the hostility that reporters encountered over the weekend while covering the protests on George Floyd’s death.

Zurawik, a frequent guest on Brian Stelter’s Reliable Sources, joined the show on Sunday to help continue the discussion about the violence and harassment that was directed at the media amid the rowdy protests. Zurawik used his appearance to bash Fox News and others who’ve advanced the narrative that controversial deaths of African Americans in police custody are a result of “a few bad apples in the police department,” rather than systemic racism within the justice system.

Stelter wrapped up the conversation by turning to his concern that police aggression toward peaceful protesters will escalate the situation by prompting more people to demonstrate. When he gave the last word to Zurawik, the latter made the argument that Trump’s anti-media rhetoric has incited people to be belligerent to the press in the midst of the chaos.

“Let’s not leave Trump out of this conversation,” said Zurawik. “What he’s done the last four years of encouraging people to hate the press — ‘enemy of the people’, ‘scum of the Earth’, using those rallies — it’s a weapon he’s used and we see the effects, I think. I’m not totally blaming him, but it’s a large factor in the attacks on press that we’re seeing on the streets today.”

Watch above, via CNN.

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