Did the aftermath of the attempted assassination change the tone of the media on an unusually busy news day? | US

If this were a typical presidential campaign, Donald Trump’s choice of J.D. Vance as his Republican running mate would likely have dominated media discussions for a week or two.

This is not a typical presidential campaign.

On Monday, that choice was just part of the mix. On the opening day of the Republican convention, two days after an assassination attempt on Trump, news organizations were juggling multiple big stories and grappling with the uncertainty of whether political violence would change the tone of their reporting.

Would the softening of the political battle, as some, including President Joe Biden, called for after Saturday’s shooting, also be visible on news networks, many of which say they are live coverage of the battle?

Diving into seismic events, hoping for some wisdom

Trump’s announcement of his selection of Vance on Monday afternoon, coming from a man known for his grasp of political theater, was subdued. At first, news organizations were told that two men who were supposed to be on his shortlist — Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota — had been told they had not been chosen.

Shortly afterward, Trump announced the Ohio senator’s pick in a post on his Truth Social outlet. Vance was later seen on the floor of the GOP convention in Milwaukee, where he accepted handshakes and congratulatory hugs.

While speaking to politicians at the convention, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins asked a handful of interviewees the following question: How would the attempted assassination change the tone of the Republican gathering?

There was a clear sadness, Senator Katie Britt responded. But the conversation then turned to an accusation against the media.

“I really wish the media would report it better if we worked together,” Britt said.

Earlier, a bitter exchange took place on the Congressional floor between former President Donald Trump Jr.’s son and MSNBC reporter Jacob Soboroff when the reporter asked for specific details about what Trump’s father would do regarding the immigration issue.

“I expect nothing less from you clowns, even today,” Trump said. “Even 48 hours later, you couldn’t wait. You couldn’t wait with your lies and your nonsense. So just get out of here.”

Unusual day for MSNBC

It was a turbulent and strange day for MSNBC. The network had swapped its opinion programs on Sunday for an NBC News Now straight news simulcast of news surrounding the assassination attempt.

But it was noticed Monday when MSNBC did not air its “Morning Joe” program, which is often filled with anti-Trump commentary from husband and wife team Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski and their colleagues. The network denied a CNN report that executives were concerned someone on the show would make an inappropriate comment, and said “Morning Joe” would return Tuesday.

It didn’t take long for MSNBC’s opinion programming to return on Monday.

The network opened its coverage of the convention with Rachel Maddow reciting a long list of unflattering things Vance had said about Trump during the former president’s early years in politics. The network’s five-person anchor team — Maddow, Joy Reid, Jen Psaki, Nicolle Wallace and Alex Wagner — attacked Vance’s positions on abortion.

“The best way JD Vance tells women is, go to hell,” Reid said.

Biden makes his appearance

On Fox News Channel, Brit Hume predicted that Vance would “lean on” Vice President Kamala Harris in a debate. Jessica Tarlov and Greg Gutfeld fought over which side was more guilty of inflammatory rhetoric.

Both NBC and MSNBC set aside a 20-minute slot at 9 p.m. Eastern Time to air an interview Lester Holt had conducted with President Biden earlier in the day. The host was forced to adjust his list of questions, as they were written the previous week.

Holt asked Biden about his phone call to Trump after the shooting and confronted the president about whether a statement he made last week was too provocative. Biden had told donors that after the presidential debate, “it’s time to put Trump in the crosshairs” and said Monday that was a mistake. Holt asked about the choice of Vance and a judge’s decision Monday to dismiss a case against Trump for taking classified documents.

Questions about whether Biden would stay in the race after his poor performance in the debate against Trump that dominated the news last week only arose halfway through the interview.

Even then, the president still showed irritation, suggesting that the spotlight should instead be on Trump for things the Republican had said in the debate that weren’t true. He disputed Holt’s assertion that Trump had been called out for false remarks.

“Come over and talk to me about what we should be talking about — the issues,” Biden told Holt.

David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him on http://twitter.com/dbauder.

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