In the fallout of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, Australian media supporters of the former president lined up to argue that responsibility for the act of political violence fell squarely upon President Joe Biden, the Democrats and their supporters.
Undeterred by the little we know about the shooter’s confusing political history (he was a registered Republican who once donated to a scammy progressive campaigning outfit) and the absence of any information about his motive, the pro-Trump media machine wasted no time in blaming their opponents for the attack.
Not only were the claims baseless, but they also attempted to rewrite history — including their own previous statements — about Trump’s involvement and incitement in political violence, notably his role in inciting the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021.
Sky News Australia host and Daily Telegraph columnist Rita Panahi posted on X that “Every single Leftist – from Biden to the CNN, MSNBC, WaPo, NYT et al activists to the celebrities — who have called the man leading the polls a “threat to democracy” and worse have blood on their hands.”
Yet as she watched the attack on the Capitol unfold in 2021, Panahi disavowed the violent riots: “Riots are appalling no matter whose side is instigating the violence. What happened today was despicable, Too many support or rationalise mayhem when it’s politically convenient.” she posted. Notably, her passively written tweet does not mention Trump, who had told protesters that he would go with them to the Capitol where they would “fight like hell” and “stop the steal”.
The Australian’s foreign editor Greg Sheridan wrote in the aftermath of January 6 that Trump was “100 per cent responsible” for the riots. “It will now be almost impossible for anyone to make a serious defence of the Trump record, which will be forever dominated by his using the authority of the presidency to incite a violent attack on the legislature,” Sheridan said.
Yet writing about the assassination attempt on Sunday, Sheridan stated that while “the Democrats are not directly responsible for an individual, either extremist or unhinged or both, taking violent action”, it wouldn’t be surprising that someone tried to kill Trump in response to Biden and the American media’s claims that he is a threat to democracy.
Similarly, Daisy Cousens, a Sky News contributor and host of Alan Jones’ digital video network ADH.TV, posted that “the Democrats and leftist media/cultural cabal” were responsible for the attack and “I don’t want to hear any leftist mention January 6 or call #DonaldTrump a threat to democracy ever again”.
In an interview last year, however, Cousens had downplayed the January 6 riots by saying footage showed “people walking neatly down corridors”, seemingly contradicting her equivocation of the 2021 event with the Pennsylvanian shooting.
Disagreement and division are necessary parts of the sometimes ugly democratic process. It’s when people choose to go outside of the system that is the threat. If nothing else, riling up an angry group to overturn the election at Capitol Hill and deciding to carry out an act of political violence have something in common — both are attempts to use force rather than follow the political process.
Instead of acknowledging these links, rhetoric that relies on whataboutism and generalisation treats criticisms of Trump as political mudslinging detached from reality and distinct from accounts of what Trump has done and will do if reelected.
And then there’s the analysis from one particular homegrown export that defies any nod to reality at all — the NY Post’s Miranda Devine:
Are comparisons between the lead-up to Trump’s assassination attempt and his involvement in January 6 valid? Let us know your thoughts by writing to letters@crikey.com.au. Please include your full name to be considered for publication. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.
