As we told you yesterday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis pointed out that “he was on the ball field with Rep. Steve Scalise when Reps were targeted and shot” and “that event got a few days’ coverage, not the year of obsession the Jan 6 riots are getting”:
"Gov. DeSantis pointed out that he was on the ball field with Rep. Steve Scalise when Reps were targeted and shot. That event got a few days' coverage, not the year of obsession the Jan 6 riots are getting."https://t.co/GZczr24P5T
— John Fund (@johnfund) January 7, 2022
But the New York Times’ Maggie Haberman disagreed with DeSantis’ statement, tweeting “pretty sure they were a huge story”:
He’s arguing the shootings didn’t get much coverage? Pretty sure they were a huge story. https://t.co/g5uXIdzehh
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) January 7, 2022
Oh, really? Well, here’s Mary Katharine Ham with the fact-check on just how quickly that story lasted in the headlines:
I lived a block from the baseball field. Under 48 hours, the news vans were gone. I was on TV, live from the baseball field where they played the game a day later, after almost being canceled by mass murder, but my topic was "Mike Pence reportedly hired a lawyer." https://t.co/b5lIakIwIb
— Mary Katharine Ham (@mkhammer) January 7, 2022
You're welcome to talk yourself into idea that a similar murder attempt on an entire team of Democrats would have gotten the same treatment. I think the shooting of Gabby Giffords is pretty analogous and disproves that theory. Even without that data point, it's just not true.
— Mary Katharine Ham (@mkhammer) January 7, 2022
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And it doesn't mean Jan. 6 doesn't deserve coverage. Moving on after 48 hrs would be wrong for that and for Gabby Giffords! But the coverage was what it was, Scalise's return to Congress was very sparsely covered, and the anniversary was barely mentioned.
— Mary Katharine Ham (@mkhammer) January 7, 2022
I checked at the time, and it is real. News vans were staked out at the home of the parents of Elizabeth Lauten, the GOP staffer who criticized Obama's daughters on Facebook that time, for longer than they were at the practice baseball field. That's not just a news cycle issue.
— Mary Katharine Ham (@mkhammer) January 7, 2022
Boom. MKH for the win.
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