People watching former President Donald Trump’s speech about the federal charges he is facing on PBS were treated to a unique message on the screen.
On Wednesday, conservative commentator Noam Blum tweeted a screen shot from PBS’ coverage of Trump’s speech after his arraignment in the federal case against him for his handling of classified documents.
“PBS are so concerned about Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric that could lead to acts of violence that they left his fundraising number conveniently visible on screen right above their warning,” he wrote.
The screen shot showed a label meant to add “context” to the former president’s comments that read, “EXPERTS WARN THAT INFLAMMATORY RHETORIC FROM ELECTED OFFICIALS OR PEOPLE IN POWER CAN PROMPT INDIVIDUAL ACTORS TO COMMIT ACTS OF VIOLENCE.”
PBS are so concerned about Trump's inflammatory rhetoric that could lead to acts of violence that they left his fundraising number conveniently visible on screen right above their warning. pic.twitter.com/nhBSBW8SOP
— Noam Blum (@neontaster) June 14, 2023
Critics of Trump will point to his comments ahead of the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol as evidence his words can inspire violence.
Yet people are responsible for their own actions and behavior and for what it is worth, he told his supporters to be peaceful. And he has not stood up on a national broadcast and declared, “Into the streets my Magadonians! Take back what belongs to us by force! Fight! Fight for me!”
Those in the media seem to fear Trump has some magical power to hypnotize people, through comments he makes on TV, into taking violent actions without actually saying words that would be a direct call to arms.
However, it is worth pointing out that the people watching Trump’s speech on PBS are probably not the kinds of people who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6. And if they are watching on PBS, they probably ignored the label. Which raises the question: what was really the point of this warning?
It seems it was more of a virtue-signaling attempt for PBS viewers. It was as if the executives there were saying, “We have to show you him because it is newsworthy, but fret not we know he is a really, really bad person.”
To be fair, PBS was not the only network to air a ridiculous message while a president spoke on Tuesday night. During one of its opinionated programs, Fox News called President Joe Biden a “wannabe dictator,” which was simply disrespectful and irresponsible.
And there is still a grave concern or aversion from some on the Left to giving Trump any platform to speak.
It is understandable people would be concerned about Trump inciting violence. Once your supporters commit violence, it’s hard to prove a similar situation will not occur.
But at the same time, we have not seen a repeat of Jan. 6 despite warnings of right-wing violence. So it is a little ridiculous to keep up the fear of him speaking.
Networks, if they are striving to just present the news and not opinions, should just let politicians speak without feeling to influence viewers’ thoughts by telling their audience what a menace the speaker is. Let the viewers make up their own minds.