Law enforcement from different agencies work the scene of a shooting at a shopping mall in El Paso, Texas, on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2019. Multiple people were killed and one person was in custody after a shooter went on a rampage at a shopping mall, police in the Texas border town of El Paso said. (AP Photo/Rudy Gutierrez)

After the horrific shootings that took place over the weekend, there have been lots of calls for the President to denounce white supremacy. It should be noted he’s done that multiple times over the course of his administration and I’m not sure why someone who’s not a white supremacist is expected to constantly condemn it. It should also be noted that the Dayton shooter was a radical left-wing socialist.

Regardless, I get the urge. Some want to see the most powerful person in the world take to the bully pulpit and let it be known what disgusting pieces of garbage neo-nazis are. The media, eager to continue blaming Trump for shootings he had nothing to do with, were demanding such a denunciation almost immediately after news of the first shooting in El Paso broke.

This morning, Trump gave them what they wanted, not to please them, but because addressing the nation after these events was the right thing to do.

President Trump: “In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy. These sinister ideologies must be defeated. Hate has no place in America. Hatred warps the mind, ravages the heart and devours the soul.” https://t.co/OcpkYxKGDO pic.twitter.com/LsULa6kATs — CNN (@CNN) August 5, 2019

This means the media backed off and acknowledged Trump’s words and direct condemnation of white supremacy, right?

Nah, they responded exactly as you’d expect. Here’s The Washington Post’s Twitter timeline after the address.

Opinion: Trump can’t decry racism and white supremacy if he is their chief promoter https://t.co/xDbfoVPmBa — The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) August 5, 2019

Opinion: Trump’s speech would be laughable if it weren’t so infuriating. "There was no sincere remorse for his own role in fanning racism," writes @JRubinBlogger. https://t.co/d5uoRrJj3G — The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) August 5, 2019

Analysis: Video games. Homelessness. Social media. After shootings, Republicans have avoided talking about Trump and white nationalism. https://t.co/sCcFD7AxB3 — The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) August 5, 2019

Trump avoided talking about white nationalism by…directly talking about the evils of white nationalism? Makes sense.

Here was ABC News complaining that Trump’s speech wasn’t good enough because he didn’t take personal blame.

ABC Pans Trump Speech on Shootings: ‘Lacked Reflection’ Over His Own 'Rhetoric' https://t.co/JK4ZoWBLNQ — NewsBusters (@newsbusters) August 5, 2019

Many of us saw this coming. There was no doubt that the calls for Trump to speak were never in good faith. In fact, the media were almost certainly hoping he wouldn’t so they could bludgeon him with a lack of action.

How this week will go: Libs: "Why isn't Trump denouncing white supremacy? He's responsible." Trump this morning: "In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry, and white supremacy." Libs: "This isn't good enough. Trump is a white supremacist." — Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) August 5, 2019

I have more than my share of issues with Trump and issues of race and hatred. But if Democrats demand he condemn hatred and white supremacy, and he does, and then they insist it doesn’t matter and is irrelevant — that looks unreasonable and unserious to most people. — Orange Muppet Energy (@sunnyright) August 5, 2019

In fact, after addressing the nation, the media decided they’d found their next pressure point to jam their fingers into. Namely, that a Trump staffer put the wrong name of the Dayton shooting in the teleprompter.

I didn't believe it. I had to rewind the DVR three times. He said "may God bless the memory of those who perished in Toledo." — Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) August 5, 2019

LEFT: Trump needs to call out white supremacy! TRUMP: *Calls out white supremacy LEFT: HE SAID TOLEDO AND THAT’S WHAT MATTERS NOW! — The Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) August 5, 2019

The transparent hackery of all this is easy for any observer to see. No matter what Trump or Republicans do, it will never be enough. The only thing CNN, et al would have accepted here is Trump blaming the right directly for violence, personally blaming himself, and then endorsing every liberal gun control measure. Even then, maybe not.

This was never about actually caring about victims or being against white supremacy. It was always about politics and power. That means ensuring the right are shamed and silenced, facts need not apply.

Nothing Trump days will ever be enough because the left knows it’s charges are lies. The point has always been to silence him and you. — Kurt Schlichter (@KurtSchlichter) August 5, 2019

And that’s why so many on the right have simply decided to stop playing these games.

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