It is victory laps at this point for Covington Catholic High School graduate Nick Sandmann.
The Kentucky resident, who settled two defamation lawsuits recently with news outlets that claimed falsely in 2019 that he taunted and abused an elderly Native American protester in the nation’s capital, spoke Tuesday at the Republican National Convention. Sandmann spoke in support of President Trump and against the press’ deep-rooted anti-conservative bias.
“My life changed forever in that one moment,” the Covington graduate said, recalling the mountain of negative news coverage and commentary he weathered after he and his classmates were accused of “swarming” the Native American protester, Nathan Phillips, and harassing him with racist insults. “The full war machine of the mainstream media revved up into attack mode. They did so without ever researching the full video of the incident, without ever investigating … or without ever asking me for my side of the story.”
Sandmann, who was wearing a Make America Great Again hat in 2019 during his run-in with Phillips, added, “And do you know why? Because the truth wasn’t important. Advancing their anti-Christian, anti-Conservative, anti-Donald Trump narrative was all that mattered. And if advancing their narrative ruined the reputation and future of a teenager from Covington, Kentucky … so be it. That will teach him not to wear a MAGA hat!”
He is right. One of the more disturbing details about the Covington episode is that there does not appear to have been any attempt by reporters and commentators to wait until the facts of the incident were known. Members of the press wasted no time branding Sandmann and his friends as racist villains. The lack of investigatory inquiry was bad enough. The fact that it happened in the context of a story involving minors is just inexcusable.
“I learned that what was happening to me had a name,” Sandmann continued Tuesday. “It was called being canceled. As in annulled. As in revoked. As in made void. Canceled is what’s happening to people around this country who refuse to be silenced by the far left. Many are being fired, humiliated, or even threatened. Often, the media is a willing participant.”
He added, “But I wouldn’t be canceled. I fought back hard to expose the media for what they did to me and won a personal victory. While much more must be done, I look forward to the day that the media returns to providing balanced, responsible, and accountable news coverage.”
Since 2019, CNN and the Washington Post have settled multimillion-dollar defamation lawsuits with Sandmann for their false coverage of the incident in Washington.
“I’m proud to say that throughout my media nightmare, I have had President Trump’s unwavering support,” Sandmann said at the conclusion of his convention speech. “And I know you’ll agree with me when I say no one in this county has been a victim of unfair media coverage more than President Donald Trump. In November, I believe this country must unite around a president who calls the media out and refuses to allow them to create a narrative instead of reporting the facts.”
He added, “I believe we must join with a president who will challenge the media to return to objective journalism. And together, I believe we must all embrace our First Amendment rights and not hide in fear of the media or from the tech companies or the outrage mob, either. This is worth fighting for. This is worth voting for. This is what President Donald Trump stands for. Thank you all for listening to me tonight.”
Sandmann paused for a final flourish.
“And one more thing,” he said, taking a MAGA hat from his pocket and placing it on his head. “Let’s make America great again!”
He has already settled with two news outlets and intends to take on at least four more. Appearing at the 2020 Republican convention on Tuesday to rake the press over the coals on national television is just icing on the cake for Sandmann.
