A night celebrating free speech takes a turn
To coin a phrase there is a lot to unpack from Saturday’s shooting incident at the White House Correspondent’s Association dinner in Washington, D.C.
I have a few thoughts and no they will not center on the numerous conspiracy theories, despite the fact that my husband predicted one while we were watching the news coverage and before President Donald Trump mentioned the b word (ballroom).
I saw the notification of the shooting pop up on my email notification and I will be honest, one of my first thoughts was not that someone was trying to assassinate the president but rather someone was going after members of the media.
Some of you may be laughing now but it would not be the first time media were targeted. In 2015 WDBJ Virginia newscasters Alison Parker and Adam Ward were shot to death live on air.
In 2020, five employees of The Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland were shot and killed inside the newsroom.
Chauncey Bailey, The Oakland Post editor-in-chief was killed in 2007 while on his way to work.
According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization there have been nine journalists killed in the United States since 1993, fortunately none this year.
There have been 13 journalists killed across the world this year, and 1,859 since 1993.
Ever since Trump’s first term and his claims of “fake news” and calling journalists “enemies of the people” animosity has increased toward members of media, yes, primarily mainstream media, but media in general.
I have written in the past about verbal attacks I have witnessed or been the target of and there have only been less than a handful of times where the verbal threats made me nervous that it could escalate into something violent.
It is for all these reasons that my thoughts first went to the journalists.
Fortunately the shooter never even breached the ballroom where most everyone was sitting down to begin dinner.
I was actually pleased to hear President Trump talk about the event in the context that it was to celebrate Freedom of Speech, despite many calls from the Administration to curb the First Amendment (more on that in a minute).
“It was supposed to bring together members of both parties with members of the press, and it a certain way it did, because the fact that they just unified us. It was a room that was totally unified. In one way it was a very beautiful thing to see,” Trump said at the White House following incident at the Washington Hilton.
He added, “I ask that all Americans recommit with their hearts in resolving our differences peacefully. We have to resolve our differences … There was a tremendous amount of love and coming together.
“It was such a beautiful evening. They’re talking about free speech and our constitution, that’s what it’s all about.”
He thanked the press and the media and said, “You’ve been very responsible with your coverage.”
That was Saturday, on Sunday he went back on the attack, attacking Nora O’Donnell during an interview on 60 Minutes. He and first lady Melania Trump attacked Jimmy Kimmel for jokes said three days prior to the dinner on Thursday, April 23. (There were no comments about the jokes either Thursday night, Friday night or any time during Saturday.)
And just like that, everything is “back to normal, if you can call it that” with all the warm feelings the president had for free speech and media, about 30 minutes (the length of the press conference following the shooting at the dinner).
One other brief comment about Trump’s speech Saturday night. He said they would have the dinner again, hopefully within 30 days and it would be “bigger and better.”
First, the dinner was not a White House or Trump Administration event. Second, The WHCA is not a government agency, they are independent journalists and an independent association.
The dinner is an annual event by the WHCA. Per the WHCA website, the dinner, “Our annual dinner is our main source of revenue to finance all of our work, including support of the journalists working to cover the president, events and programs to educate the public about the value of the First Amendment and a free press, and scholarships to help the next generation of journalists.”
The president is typically invited but does not always attend. This was the first WHCA dinner Trump attended as president.
WHCA President Weijia Jiang issued the following statement Sunday, “We express our deepest gratitude to the U.S. Secret Service and all law enforcement personnel who ensured the safety of everyone in the ballroom and beyond. Their actions protected thousands of guests, and we wish a full and speedy recovery to the officer who was injured in the line of duty. We are grateful everyone in attendance was unharmed …
“Our dinner exists to celebrate the First Amendment and the hard daily work of the journalists who defend it. Last night, those journalists showed exactly the kind of calm and courage that work demands, jumping into reporting immediately after the incident unfolded. We are proud of everyone in that room.
“The WHCA board will be meeting to assess what happened and determine how to proceed. We will provide updates as soon as any are available.”
I too am glad no one was seriously injured Saturday night.
My wish, following Saturday’s incident, echoes the words of President Trump from Saturday night, that people everywhere find a way to resolve our differences peacefully and not with harsh words or violence.