CNN State of the Union host Dana Bash came under assault from the left on Sunday for daring to ask Rep. Jamie Raskin if he would think twice about hot rhetoric against President Trump after a third assassination attempt. “Call To Activism,” with 1.2 million followers on X was furious: “WTF: CNN’s Dana Bash humiliates herself on live TV insinuating to Jamie Raskin that Democrats are to blame for political violence for ‘heated rhetoric’ like saying Trump ‘is terrible for this country.’ Completely delusional and embarrassing.” Bash started without blaming either side: BASH: And then there's the political rhetoric that we have seen just get -- just become kind of off the rails and how that has perhaps gone hand in hand with the political violence that we have seen in this fight. RASKIN: Well, that's why I was so happy that President Trump went to that, because he had called the press the enemy of the people. There have been so many attacks on reporters. You know, there have been lawsuits brought against media entities. And so there's been this terrible assault on the First Amendment and freedom of press and speech. So I thought last night would be a wonderful opportunity to try to reclaim the basic values of the country. This is where Bash was too pushy for the lefties: BASH: You and your fellow Democrats have used some heated rhetoric against the president. Do you think twice about that when something like that happens? RASKIN: What rhetoric do you have in mind? BASH: That he's terrible for this country and so on and so forth pic.twitter.com/J8RHUgIodF — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 26, 2026 BASH: Yes. And you have, and as many of your fellow Democrats have used some heated rhetoric against the president. And do you think twice about that when something like this happens? RASKIN: What rhetoric do you have in mind? I... BASH: Well, just talking about some of the fact that he is terrible for this country and so on and so forth. I understand that that's your democratic right. But, overall... RASKIN: Right. BASH: ... do you have a responsibility? That’s a softball. Of course, politicians have a responsibility to speak with some fraction of civility. She couldn't be specific, like what you hear on CNN, that Trump is Hitler, or he's coming unglued. Raskin protested too much. It's not "personal" when I accuse him of authoritarianism: RASKIN: I have no personal problem with Donald Trump at all. I mean, I talk about the policies of this administration, the authoritarianism, like we saw on display in Minneapolis, where two of our citizens were gunned down in the streets simply for exercising their First Amendment rights, Renee Good, Alex Pretti. And others have died in custody. I'm talking about policies. I don't personalize it. And I certainly have never called the press the enemy of the people. I think the press are the people's best friend, and that's why it's written right there into the First Amendment. We need the press to be a vigilant watchdog against every level of government, federal, state, local, all of it. BASH: You're not going to get an argument from me on that. Bash should have come with better examples from Raskin about "fascist assaults on democracy," not just "terrible for the country," which is standard politician fare. 

The gravity of the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner significantly altered the trajectory of the Sunday political affairs shows, which went from the usual talking points and “conventional wisdom” to tracking breaking news in real time. However, some of the shows found an opportunity to conduct themselves in their usual manner. Watch as NBC’s Kristen Welker gets an interview with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on a very fast-moving day where most of these agency heads have been working through the night on a complex bicoastal case, only to pinch off a question on the Kash Patel hitjob published by The Atlantic: OF COURSE: With the investigation into the WHCD shooting still ongoing, NBC's Kristen Welker finds time to ask Acting AG Todd Blanche about The Atlantic's hit job on Kash Patel. pic.twitter.com/KLaNBZVW4F — Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) April 26, 2026 KRISTEN WELKER: Mr. Acting Attorney General, the security breach does come amid reporting in The Atlantic that FBI Director Kash Patel has alarmed some of his colleagues with episodes of what The Atlantic describes as “excessive drinking, unexplained absences.” Does President Trump still have confidence in Kash Patel to lead the FBI at this critical moment? TODD BLANCHE: That article was full of unnamed sources and should be completely discounted. I was with Director Patel last night. I was with him at the crime scene. I was with him in the Oval Office. I was with him afterwards. I was on the phone with him late into the evening. He was at the command center of leading the investigation along with our great U.S. Attorney from D.C. Jeanine Pirro, and that’s what he’s doing. So there are all these fake articles with unnamed sources claiming things, and then there’s the reality of what’s happening, and what we all saw last night. And so I’m not going to speak for President Trump but I certainly have confidence in Director Patel, and also the men and women working with him that worked through the night, will work through the day and through the night tonight, to investigate this crime. And it’s something that I’m very proud of, and everybody in this country should be proud about as well. WELKER: Okay. And you’re saying that — The Atlantic has stood by its reporting. I do want to ask you: looking forward, what specific steps is the Department of Justice taking to monitor or disrupt more potential acts of violence, and potentially political violence? BLANCHE: We work every day to protect this country. There’s thousands of agents that are working every day to protect this country. And it’s regular investigative steps, it’s tips coming in from members of the public, it’s us doing the investigative work that we have done for decades that we continue to do. And you’ve seen that in the results. You’ve seen that in the charges that we’ve brought, in the attempts of terrorism that have been stopped by the FBI, and by DHS agents as well. And so this is an all-government approach to make sure that our country is safe, not only within our borders but also outside as well. And that’s the work that we have always done, and not withstanding the noise that comes from some parts of this country about the work that we’re not doing, it’s not true. And so I think that the work that happened last night is something that the whole world got to see. But that’s what happens every day inside the FBI, the Department of Justice, and DHS. This is who the Elitist Media are. In the immediate aftermath of what could have been a national tragedy, Welker chooses to push a story with no on-the-record sources, and which is very clearly part of an ongoing agenda to undermine the Trump administration. Blanche addressed the story in one sentence and then went on to express his full confidence in Patel. Welker very stunningly and bravely stands cites The Atlantic as standing by their reporting. In so doing, she demonstrates everything that is currently wrong with the journalistic profession and why there is such low overall confidence in the media. Lest anyone think this is an isolated problem, here’s CNN’s Dana Bash doing the exact same thing on State of the Union. What’s different here is that Bash merely alludes to the article by asking Blanche whether President Trump still has faith in Patel: WATCH: CNN's Dana Bash asks Acting AG Todd Blanche whether President trump still has confidence in Kash Patel to lead the investigation of the WHCD shooting, for some reason: DANA BASH: Does President Trump still have faith in Kash Patel enough to lead this investigation? TODD… pic.twitter.com/lWo66fcVWr — Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) April 27, 2026 DANA BASH: Does President Trump still have faith in Kash Patel enough to lead this investigation? TODD BLANCHE: Kash Patel was with the president last night, as everybody saw- he was up. I was on the phone with him after 1:00 in the morning. His men and women, and he was on site with our U.S. Attorney and the prosecutors. The- until late in the evening, if not all night, at the command center. And so this- this is a testament to hard work. And Director Patel did a great job last night. I spoke with him this morning already about the investigation. He's leading this investigation, as you would expect. And- and I feel very confident and comforted in the work that the FBI is doing. And it's not just me. Every American should feel comfort in the work that we’ve done over the past 12 hours and in the work that we’re going to be doing in the coming days.  

Many are calling for a re-examination of political rhetoric in the wake of yet another attempted assassination attempt against President Donald Trump (and, for the first time, members of his Cabinet). But will this call for self-examination trickle down to the darkest corners of the Elitist Media? That remains to be seen. As you now know, late night Resistance Comic Jimmy Kimmel did a mock White House Correspondents’ Dinner monologue- in a manner similar to Jen Psaki’s bit where she does fake news conferences on MS NOW. Our own Alex Christy took a look at one of Kimmel’s gags- a crass gay rape joke directed targeting FCC Chair Brendan Carr. Here’s another “joke” that needs to be examined in the wake of the shooting: What is the Walt Disney Corporation going to do to address its role in the foment of the current climate of political violence? From Jimmy Kimmel's fake WHCD monologue: "Our First Lady Melania is here. Look at Mel- so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant… pic.twitter.com/VGRjOJRPQl — Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) April 26, 2026 JIMMY KIMMEL: Our First Lady Melania is here. Look at Mel- so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.  So edgy. So Resistancey. Yet another low for a blackface-wearing bigot reading unfunny “jokes” written by his wife.  Kimmel’s corny bit begs the question: at what point does The Walt Disney Corporation address its role in fomenting the current climate of political violence? If the backlash to his crass comments following the assassination of Charlie Kirk is any indication, it may reward him instead. After his smear of conservatives and subsequent suspension and blubbering apology, Kimmel was first rewarded with a contract extension, and then a Peabody. The Elitist Media SAY that they are concerned about political discourse and the promotion of political violence, but DO otherwise.

The horrid White House Correspondent’s Dinner shooting was, as is to be reasonably expected, top of mind across the Sunday show dial and on the minds of the respective hosts. For some of their guests, it was an opportunity to weave partisan talking points into concern over the shooting and its aftermath. Such was the case for U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) who, while on CBS’s Face the Nation, took a question from Margaret Brennan on the need for Democrats to dial down their rhetoric and used it as the basis for his defense of the recently-indicted Southern Poverty Law Center: WATCH: CBS's Margaret Brennan allows Rep. Jamie Raskin to use the WHCD shooting as a means with which to mischaracterize the SPLC indictment, wherein the organization funded "right-wing" violence it would later "combat." Pay attention to the "or-" when Raskin describes the SPLC's… pic.twitter.com/5jLpXYqTY4 — Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) April 26, 2026 MARGARET BRENNAN: The President, I want to make sure that I recognize what he said because we don't hear him speak this way very often. He said “I ask all Americans to recommit with their hearts to resolve our difference peacefully”, and he talked about being unified with members of the press. JAMIE RASKIN: Yes. Well, that certainly -- that's a new message from him. That's great. He had called the press, of course, “the enemy of the people” and he’s been engaged in a lot of lawsuits against your profession. Yes. We are going into this politically charged midterm season. There will be campaigning around the country with lawmakers out there. BRENNAN: Well, we’re- Yes. We are going into this politically charged midterm season. There’s going to be campaigning around the country with lawmakers out there. Does something change? He said this. Does something change? Demo- does Democratic language need to change, as well? RASKIN: Well- we have said all along that we need every politician in the country, every leader in the country, every citizen in the country denouncing political violence across the board regardless of where it's coming from. BRENNAN: Yeah. RASKIN: So, you know, I find this a welcome change in rhetoric, but what happened last week- they brought a lawsuit against the Southern Poverty Law Center, whose whole purpose is to or- investigate violent right-wing extremism in the country and now they're prosecuting them for having used undercover agents which, of course, the FBI uses and the government uses all the time. BRENNAN: Understood. And there is across party lines some political violence, way too much of it right now and actually, Speaker Emerita Pelosi on this program said to me recently that she thought the threat or the concern about violence or threats to your family is what is hurting recruitment of people to run for office- particularly mothers, particularly women. Are you seeing that? That people are afraid to even join public life because of this?  RASKIN: Sure. Anybody who’s thinking about running for office undoubtedly thinks about that. Anybody who’s thinking about running for President undoubtedly thinks about that. And those people have the most protection with the Secret Service, and other people don't have the same kind of protections. So look, we have to rediscover the great American tradition of non-violence and Dr. King and the civilizing movements have always opposed violence, versus the violent groups that have used violence historically beginning with the Ku Klux Klan in order to terrorize other people. BRENNAN: Congressman Raskin, thank you for joining us, and we’re glad you were able to do so. RASKIN: You bet. BRENNAN: We’ll be right back.  Brennan never did push back on Raskin’s multiple sophistries. Instead to her next question on whether the current climate of political violence is dissuading people from running for office, before ending the interview.  Raskin shamelessly lied about the SPLC indictment by framing it as being solely about the use of confidential informants. It was not. As first reported by CBS, the SPLC was indicted on fraud charges for, among other things, funding events such as the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville and then using the events they funded in donor appeals.  And do take notice of what sure appears to be a Freudian slip by Raskin, who checked himself before fully saying it: …but what happened last week- they brought a lawsuit against the Southern Poverty Law Center, whose whole purpose is to or- investigate violent right-wing extremism in the country…  What did the “or” mean there? Organize? The SPLC’s actions as enumerated in the indictment sure seem to indicate that, and it is unfortunate that Brennan let Raskin push these points unchallenged. And while it is good and proper that Brennan ask Raskin about Democrats’ rhetoric, it is unfortunate that this question seems to be out of her alignment with her beliefs as expressed in her editorial to close out the show: WATCH: In an editorial to close out this week's "Face the Nation," CBS's Margaret Brennan reflexively blames the Second Amendment for the WHCD shooting, as opposed to the violent rhetoric emanating from the left. MARGARET BRENANN: A night to celebrate the First Amendment,… pic.twitter.com/N1dcMw4nC0 — Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) April 26, 2026 MARGARET BRENANN: A night to celebrate the First Amendment, abruptly ended by a gunman permitted by the Second Amendment to own those weapons. Gun violence is not new in America, but the threat of violence is now a cost of public life. It permeates our politics. Last month, Supreme Court justice Roberts publicly appealed for personal attacks on judges to stop. U.S. Marshals report there were 564 threats last year, and nearly 15,000 against lawmakers, staff and their families according to U.S. Capitol Police.  Multiple Trump Cabinet members now live on military bases for their own protection. No such fortress for the federal and state officials who face growing number of threats in communities across the country. There’s a marked increase in harassment and threats of physical violence to journalists in the U.S. from the very public they are working to inform. As the nation wonders how to keep the next gunman out, let's also reflect on how we let this hate in, how we stop it from corroding our democracy, and how we grasp on to our civility before we lose it. It is easy to blame the Second Amendment for the shooting. This editorial, however, absolves from responsibility those who have abused the First Amendment in order to gin deranged individuals up into committing unspeakable acts of violence against those with whom they disagree. This is part of what the SPLC sought to accomplish through its campaign of fraud, and what so many others across multiple institutions do on a regular basis.  An unfortunate missed opportunity by Brennan.  

Brian Stelter came out of his reporting at the White House Correspondents Dinner with the usual liberal spin. His special "Reliable Sources" newsletter reliably toe-tapped the line. The headline was "An all-too-common American story." The foiled shooting at this exclusive Washington party was "extraordinary," and yet, it's the last example of Americans have too much access to guns.  But we need to say out loud that it was actually all too ordinary. In America this is all too common – a shots-fired moment, a chaotic lockdown, a spasm of violence interrupting a peaceful gathering. Thousands of media and political elites have now gone through what countless millions of other Americans have experienced in their schools, offices, malls and churches. And on most of those occasions, there were no Secret Service agents. As I crouched underneath a table last night, I knew that waves of law enforcement officials were pouring into the room, leaping from chair to chair, securing the scene. A man near me seemed hurt, or at least dazed, and a police officer helped him limp away. Everyone in the room gave thanks to the agents, bodyguards and officers who responded. But I couldn't help but think that most of the Americans who have found themselves in the middle of a shots-fired emergency feel much more exposed, much more vulnerable. And I think we should keep acknowledging that during the follow-up news coverage of this incident. As CNN's Victor Blackwell put it, when I joined him on air this morning, "The people in that room were confronted with what schoolchildren and moviegoers and congregants and people at grocery stores have been confronted with, and that is the threat of gun violence." The shooting revealed how political violence has become a "feature of American life," The Guardian's Rachel Leingang wrote. The president "is the highest-profile target of political violence," the NYT's Luke Broadwater wrote, "but the threats for years have affected officeholders at local, state and federal levels," and "the violence has taken the lives of members of both major political parties." That was followed by the notion that Wild West America looks crazy to the rest of the world:  During our overnight coverage on CNN, Jim Sciutto pointed out that people watching in other countries are baffled by this American attribute. "One thing we know," Sciutto said, "is that there will be a lot of discussion afterwards about security measures. (Discussion about) rhetoric, perhaps, as well. There won't be any substantive discussion about access to weapons, right? There just won't." I told him that Americans skip that part of the conversation, and then the rest of the world looks at us and thinks we're crazy. This morning, my 6-year-old son [Story Stelter] texted me, "Are you OK?" Yes, we're all OK. I FaceTimed him and said I'll be home soon. But I worry that one day I'll be texting that same question to him, because it seems that in America, everyone eventually winds up too close to a terrible convulsion of violence. Stelter had a version on TV as well overnight, that this is the wrong kind of American exceptionalism: "This is unfortunately very normal in America." So.... no Second Amendment pocket square? https://t.co/xvugisJUgI — Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) April 26, 2026