“The media also has a responsibility to set a civil tone and to stop the endless hostility and constant negative, and often times, false attacks and stories,” Trump told the Wisconsin crowd, returning to a favorite villain he has regularly cast as "the enemy of the people." The media, and specifically CNN, happened to have been one of the recipients of the bombs, addressed to CNN contributor and former CIA Director John Brennan. But that wasn't going to stop Trump, especially after CNN Worldwide President Jeff Zucker had criticized Trump and his White House earlier in the day for their "total and complete lack of understanding" about the animosity they have stoked toward the media.
"Words matter," Zucker wrote. "Thus far, they have shown no comprehension of that."
Early Thursday morning, Trump took another whack at the media—again, an actual recipient of one bomb, and soon to be the recipient of another addressed to former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper care of CNN.
"A very big part of the Anger we see today in our society is caused by the purposely false and inaccurate reporting of the Mainstream Media that I refer to as Fake News," Trump tweeted. "Mainstream Media must clean up its act, FAST!"
By the time Trump sent that tweet, we had already learned that the terror threat was far from over, with new explosive devices found that morning addressed to Vice President Joe Biden and actor Robert De Niro. Trump hadn't so much as bothered to pick up the phone and call the two former presidents who had been targeted the day before for assassination, and yet here he was putting the media on the hook for yet another round of attempted carnage.
On Friday morning, Trump's cowardice got even worse. As the FBI and other law enforcement officials closed on a suspect, Trump called into question whether "this 'Bomb' stuff" was even real as he groused about the toll it was taking on Republicans at the polls.
"Republicans are doing so well in early voting, and at the polls, and now this ‘Bomb’ stuff happens and the momentum greatly slows," he tweeted. "Very unfortunate, what is going on. Republicans, go out and vote!"
It was Trump's third victimhood tweet of the morning. He had already bemoaned how the "lowly rated CNN" could criticize him but if he criticized them, they would scream “it’s just not Presidential!” Also, twitter had apparently purged some of its malicious bots and, thus, Trump's followers had decreased.
"A few weeks ago" he tweeted, Twitter "was a Rocket Ship, now it is a Blimp! Total Bias?"
People were receiving bombs in the mail and Trump was using his national platform to assail a tech company for what he deemed to be unfair treatment because he lost a few fake followers. Honest to god, does it get any pettier than that?
By Friday night, 14 packages and counting had been sent to Trump's enemies and the FBI had apprehended Florida suspect Cesar Sayoc Jr. at near lighting speed, hauling away a white van papered-over in pro-Trump paraphernalia and pictures of his political opponents in crosshairs.
While Trump was busily pointing fingers and pointedly avoiding responsibility, the agency Trump has repeatedly skewered as chaotic, unprofessional and biased kept its nose to the ground and quickly concluded an episode that could have resulted in multiple deaths and widespread terror. At a press conference Friday morning, FBI Director Christopher Wray expressed his deep appreciation for all the agencies and individuals who had helped with the investigation.
“The partnerships that exist between the law enforcement profession in this country are extraordinary, are better than they've ever been,” he said, “and it's exactly what the doctor ordered for this country at this time.” Indeed.
Yet Trump still lacked the soul to show even a hint of leadership. As he departed for a rally in North Carolina Friday afternoon, he told reporters he would "probably pass" on contacting the Obamas to check on them. Asked if he would tone down his rhetoric, he said he had already done so but might move in the opposite direction because of how badly he had been treated.
"I could really tone it up because, as you know, the media's been extremely unfair to me and to the Republican Party," he explained.
And when the crowd in North Carolina began their inevitable "CNN sucks!" chants Friday night, Trump chimed in, “indeed they do, they have a major role to play in terms of tone, in terms of everything.”
The nation got a preview this week of how Trump responds to a crisis not of his own making. It could have been calamitous except that the agency he has obsessively assailed rescued the nation from his still stunning lack of competence and concern for anyone but himself. Frankly, it’s both a miracle and a small bit of grace any piece of our government continues to be as functional as the FBI proved to be in this dark hour. And as the tragedy unfolding at a Pittsburgh synagogue on Saturday reminds us, there’s no shortage of dark hours to come.
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