Just when you think Donald Trump cannot do or say something more despicable, he proves you wrong. Last night's MAGA/Nazi rally in Montana, Trump gloated and praised Montana Republican Rep. Greg Gianforte for assaulting a reporter during his campaign last May. Gianforte had assaulted a Guardian reporter, Ben Jacobs, for asking a questions about health insurance and Gianforte's response was to literally body slam him.
Trump's view: "Any guy who can do a body slam ... he's my guy" and he then made a gesture of a body slam.
The crowd cheered and clapped. And they don't want to be called deplorable?
This grotesque and depraved spectacle comes as the administration scrambles to determine what happened (they know) to Jamal Khashoggi (a Washington Post columnist that Trump doesn't care about) and determine how to respond (ignore) and what to do to MBS and Saudia Arabia (how to help them cover it up).
Even though there are allegedly recordings of Khashoggi's murder, Trump still refuses to admit that he was murdered and Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, is still denying that he even heard the tapes.
Trump finally did say, on Thursday, that "it certainly looks" like Khashoggi is dead. But, Trump is still waiting for the investigation being conducted by Saudi Arabia to be complete. You know, like asking O.J. to investigate the murder of his ex-wife and her friend before the prosecutors decide what to do. Totally logical.
Back to Gianforte - back in June 2017, he pleaded guilty misdemeanor assault and was sentenced to 40 hours of community service, 20 hours of anger management and a $300 fine.
The Guardian's US editor, John Mulholland, issued a statement shortly after the rally:
"The President of the United States tonight applauded the assault on an American journalist who works for the Guardian. To celebrate an attack on a journalist who was simply doing his job is an attack on the First Amendment by someone who has taken an oath to defend it. In the aftermath of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, it runs the risk of inviting other assaults on journalists both here and across the world where they often face far greater threats. We hope decent people will denounce these comments and that the President will see fit to apologize for them."
Twitter was disgusted with Donald Trump as well:
And if you think it is just Trump that thinks this is funny, it isn't. This tweet from Jim Acosta made my blood run cold for a few seconds:
Is there a bottom to the depravity of this MAGA mob? Trump could call a reporter on stage and shoot them in the head and the crowd would chant and jeer and clap while Trump wiped the blood on his shirt. These animals are vile, infested, repulsive.
And they call us a mob?
