If you were hoping for an evening where Trump didn’t drum up support among his base by demeaning us all and speaking every sentence as if it were the first one uttered upon waking from a nightmare, you are out of luck.
On Thursday, the president attended a rally in Montana and praised Republican Montana Rep. Greg Gianforte for physically assaulting Guardian political correspondent Ben Jacobs in May of 2017. The attack occurred as Jacobs was asking then-candidate Gianforte about what was then being touted as the Republican “healthcare plan”—which it in no way was. Gianforte “body-slammed” the reporter, and was charged with misdemeanor assault soon after. Gianforte pled guilty to misdemeanor assault. He still won his election, of course.
Trump said of Gianforte: “Any guy who can do a body slam…he’s my guy.” A lot of people can do that, but of course that’s not the point. You can see the full extent of the remarks in the video below.
Guardian U.S. Editor John Mullholland issued a statement in response: