Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) said on Tuesday that the media “does a great job” of covering terrorist attacks, breaking with President Donald Trump’s claim that some are given no coverage at all.
“The White House is essentially calling for wall-to-wall coverage of terror attacks,” NBC News’ Kate Snow asked. “Are you nodding your head, you don’t think that’s what they’re calling for?”
“No, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Kinzinger said. “I think it’s important to cover these things, and I think the news does a great job of covering it any time you have an attack in Paris or in the United States, there in fact is wall-to-wall coverage for quite a while.”
He called terrorism a “growing cancer” but said that excessive coverage can lead to a “dark cloud” of fear.
“I think the media does a good job of covering this,” Kinzinger said. “But I think Americans also need to understand that while we need to be aware of what’s happening, we need to execute this war against terror, still live your life, enjoy your life, hug your family and be proud to be an American.”
During a speech on Monday at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, Trump claimed that the media is not reporting on terrorist attacks, but did not explain why.
“It’s gotten to a point where it’s not even being reported. And in many cases the very, very dishonest press doesn’t want to report it,” he said. “They have their reasons, and you understand that.”
The Trump administration on Monday night released a list of 78 terror attacks it said have been ignored by the media. However, the list included attacks that did earn widespread coverage, such as the San Bernardino, California shooting in 2015 and the attack in Nice, France in 2016.
Top White House adviser Kellyanne Conway acknowledged on Tuesday that some attacks on the list did in fact receive “international coverage and wall-to-wall coverage,” but claimed that others “lead to mass casualties but still don’t get the attention.”
