Even after Jamal Khashoggi’s murder, Donald Trump still thinks violence against journalists is fantastic

| 10:35 am EDT October 19, 2018
Dear Palmer Report readers, we all understand the difficult era we're heading into. Major media outlets are caving to Trump already. Even the internet itself and publishing platforms may be at risk. But Palmer Report is nonetheless going to lead the fight. We're funding our 2025 operating expenses now, so we can keep publishing no matter what happens. I'm asking you to contribute if you can, because the stakes are just so high. You can donate here.

Donald Trump is facing one of the ugliest scandals of his illegitimate presidency, as he keeps taking Saudi Arabia’s side even after everyone has figured out that the Saudi Arabian government murdered and dismembered Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. He can’t come out publicly against the Saudis, because he owes them too much money. But you’d think Trump would at least avoid touting the notion of violence against journalists in general. Eh, not so much.

During Donald Trump’s rally last night in Montana, where he was supposed to be supporting a struggling Republican Senate candidate, he instead decided to –as always – make it about himself. At one point Trump was incoherently rambling about whether or not he wears a hairpiece. Then he began quoting verbatim the talking points that Newt Gingrich of all people laid out on Fox News last night. But then Trump got around to the topic of infamous GOP Congressman Greg Gianforte.

Most people only know one thing about Gianforte, which is that he body slammed Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs shortly before election day, and nearly lost because of it. Here’s some of what Trump said last night about the whole thing: “We endorsed Greg really early, but I heard that he had body slammed a reporter. And he was way up … and I said, ‘Oh, this is terrible, he’s going to lose the election.’ But then I said, ‘Well wait a minute, I know Montana pretty well, I think it might help him.'”

So yeah, Donald Trump thinks that, in the wake of American journalist Jamal Khasoggi’s murder, now is the right time to play up the fact that a Congressman from his own party once physically assaulted a reporter in an attempt at silencing him. Trump just keeps finding new ways to sink to a new low.

Dear Palmer Report readers, we all understand the difficult era we're heading into. Major media outlets are caving to Trump already. Even the internet itself and publishing platforms may be at risk. But Palmer Report is nonetheless going to lead the fight. We're funding our 2025 operating expenses now, so we can keep publishing no matter what happens. I'm asking you to contribute if you can, because the stakes are just so high. You can donate here.