CBS is facing criticism for airing a segment on the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol not long after gunshots were fired in the vicinity of former president Donald Trump.
The FBI is investigating an apparent assassination attempt on Trump at his Florida golf course on Sunday afternoon. The Secret Service spotted a rifle barrel protruding from shrubbery around the course at around 1:30 p.m. ET, and Secret Service agents “immediately engaged” with the person, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said. The suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, fled in a car and was later detained. Trump was unharmed.
On Sunday evening, hours after the incident took place, CBS aired a 13-minute segment regarding the January 6 insurrection, which some prominent Republicans have denounced.
Political commentator Steve Cortes took to X, formerly Twitter, to criticize the network. “Wow. Just hours after the second assassination attempt on President Trump and CBS is using their @60Minutes show to attack him as a “threat to democracy” over January 6th,” he wrote. “No matter how you hate the corporate media, it’s not enough.”
His post was picked up by the former president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., who responded with: “WTF is wrong with you people?”
Several users responded in support of the former president. “Dangerous rhetoric and a 60 minute infomercial for Kamala free of charge. Do they have to declare that as a campaign contribution?” user Keith Ainsworth wrote.
Another, posting under the name Town Square, wrote: “It’s truly disgusting. When will Democrats wake up and realize they support the wrong side.”
The segment aired at 7 p.m. on Sunday evening, making it unlikely that CBS was able to reschedule or change the program in time. Newsweek has contacted CBS and Trump’s campaign team for comment via email outside of normal working hours.
Others had differing opinions. “There were no assassination attempts; someone simply had a gun 500 yards away from Donald Trump,” user JustVent wrote. “Only in America do advocates of the Second Amendment react negatively to the presence of an individual with a gun at such a distance from Trump.”
Another wrote: “This is the very rhetoric that can lead to these assassination attempts.”
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Trump wrote in a statement released by his campaign on Sunday following the incident: “I AM SAFE AND WELL! Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER! I will always love you for supporting me. Unity. Peace. Make America Great Again.”
“President Trump is safe following gunshots in his vicinity. No further details at this time,” Steven Cheung, Trump’s campaign communications director, said in a statement to Newsweek on Sunday.
“I have been briefed by my team regarding what federal law enforcement is investigating as a possible assassination attempt of former President Trump today,” President Joe Biden said in a statement. “As I have said many times, there is no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country, and I have directed my team to continue to ensure that Secret Service has every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure the former President’s continued safety.”
In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, Democratic nominee and vice president Kamala Harris condemned the incident, writing that “violence has no place in America.”
The incident comes two months after Trump was struck by a bullet that hit his right ear at an outdoor campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. The 20-year-old shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed by a Secret Service counter-sniper.
