In Focus delivers deeper coverage of the political, cultural, and ideological issues shaping America. Published daily by senior writers and experts, these in-depth pieces go beyond the headlines to give readers the full picture. You can find our full list of In Focus pieces here.The date was March 30, 1981. President Ronald Reagan walked out of the Washington Hilton at 2:27 pm EDT when shots rang out. Reagan was hit, along with White House press secretary James Brady, Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy, and Washington, D.C., police officer Thomas Delahanty. All would survive, though Brady was partially paralyzed.The first nonfamily member to visit Reagan in the hospital was House Speaker Tip O’Neill (D-MA). According to the Reagan library, “O’Neill knelt at the president’s bed before the two political foes recited the 23rd Psalm from the Bible. Before leaving, he kissed Reagan on the forehead.”
Fast forward to July 13, 2024: Former President Donald Trump was polling comfortably ahead of then-President Joe Biden. On a hot afternoon, Trump was holding an outdoor rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Not long into his speech, eight shots were fired, with one grazing Trump in the ear. If that bullet was another centimeter to the right, Trump would have likely been killed.But unlike O’Neill and Reagan, there would be no impromptu joint prayers being held, nor any kisses on the forehead. Biden, less than a week before, had declared that it “was time to put Trump in a bull’s-eye.” For years, Trump had been equated to the worst leaders in human history, from Hitler to Stalin to Mussolini, by his political foes.“President Trump and his supporters have contributed to this violent rhetoric as well,” ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos said less than 24 hours after the attempt on Trump’s life. “We were just looking back at some of the things that former President Trump has said,” correspondent Martha Raddatz responded.“Trump in January warned of bedlam in the country if the criminal charges against him succeeded. And of course, in March he said, ‘Now, if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole — that’s going to be the least of it, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the country,’” Raddatz said.In other words, Trump deserved what he had coming in the eyes of two of the most senior members of ABC News. And Raddatz had to brazenly lie to make her point. Here’s exactly what Trump said about a bloodbath back in early 2024. “We’re going to put a 100% tariff on every single car that comes across the line, and you’re not going to be able to sell those guys if I get elected,” Trump said during a rally in Ohio at the time. “Now, if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole — that’s gonna be the least of it. It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country.”Of course, he was obviously talking about a bloodbath for the auto industry if Biden and Kamala Harris were reelected due to electric vehicle mandates and American cars increasingly being made in other countries. Raddatz made it appear that Trump was calling for violence in the streets if he was defeated. She never apologized.But back to the main point: What kind of news organization would point the finger of blame at the victim not long after he was shot?President Ronald Reagan, right, talks with House Speaker Thomas “Tip” O’Neill (D-MA) in the Oval Office of the White House in 1986. (AP/Scott Stewart) | SCOTT STEWART
