Some on the left have argued that this is what happens to reporters in “Trump’s America” after months of his verbal assaults and singling them out as the “Enemy of the American People.” Others like Conservative Ben Ferguson on CNN say we should “Leave Donald Trump out of this” — which would be great advice to take as soon as conservatives stop blaming every terrorist attack on all Muslims, every crime on all Mexicans and protests for every kid shot in the back by cops on a “War on Police.”

Or you could just listen to Rep. Louie Gohmert who want’s “body slamming courses” or Rep. Trent Franks who claims this incident was “precipitated by the Left.”

On Thursday, MSNBC caught up with several Republican lawmakers who either laughed off the incident or blamed liberals. “You know, we didn’t have a course on body slamming when I went to school,” Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) joked. “I missed that course. I’m sorry I missed it.” Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) said that violence was unacceptable, but he insisted that “the left” had “precipitate” the attack. “The left has precipitated this tense confrontational approach throughout the country in recent months,” Franks opined. “I reject any kind of thing where we use physical violence in a situation like that. It should not have happened.”

Yeah, ok.

But the point is that on April 28th the Guardian reported this.

According to a financial disclosure filed with the clerk of the House of Representatives, the Montana tech mogul owns almost $150,000 worth of shares in VanEck Vectors Russia ETF and $92,400 in the IShares MSCF Russia ETF fund. Both are indexed to the Russian equities market and have significant holdings in companies such as Gazprom and Rosneft that came under US sanctions in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of the Crimea. The holdings, while substantial, make up only a small portion of Gianforte’s wealth. The congressional candidate, who made a fortune starting a software company which was later sold to Oracle, has assets estimated to be worth between $65m and $315m, according to his financial disclosure

Apparently this made an memorable impression on Gianforte, enough that he brought up right in the heat of the moment while attacking another Guardian reporter.

And it seems Gianforte’s hostile attitude toward the press appears to be part of a pattern.

Gianforte’s alleged assault of Jacobs on the eve of the election is not the first time he’s expressed open hostility toward the media. During an event in April, an attendee asked the Republican candidate how to “rein in the news media,” which that individual described as “our biggest enemy,” according to the Billings Gazette. “We have someone right here,” Gianforte replied, pointing to a reporter sitting in the audience, per the newspaper. “It seems like there is more of us than there is of him. I don’t have a simple solution for you. I will say that doing town hall meetings and getting out and visiting with people is very important.” In its editorial rescinding an endorsement of Gianforte, the Billings Gazette said that the Wednesday incident puts Gianforte’s April comments in a new light. “We’d point out that all the other questionable interactions Gianforte had with reporters, including one case where he joked about ganging up on a reporter, must now be seen through a much more sinister lens,” the Billings Gazette editorial board wrote. “What he passed off as a joke at the time now becomes much more serious.”

Gianforte has since been charged with assault on the eve of a special election against Democrat Rob Quist to replace the seat for Trump nominee for interior secretary.