MSNBC’s Katy Tur became a media darling during the 2016 election after weathering repeated, personal criticism from then-GOP nominee Donald Trump.
The Queens businessman regularly singled her out by name at campaign rallies, winning her scorn from his supporters and praise from her colleagues. Tur has since leveraged her newfound fame into hosting a temporary afternoon program about the new administration’s first 100 days.
On her show Monday, Tur mused aloud about Trump’s distaste for critical journalists, and the fact that an astounding 34 reporters have been killed in Russia since Vladimir Putin first assumed control of the country at the turn of the new millennium.
“Why — what is your sense of why this president is going above and beyond — bending over backwards, if you will — to stay away from criticizing the Russian president and to almost give him an excuse?” Tur asked Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb.
“As we know, there has, since 2000, been a couple dozen suspicious deaths of journalists in Russia who came out against the government there. Donald Trump has made no secret about going after journalists and his distaste for any news that doesn’t agree with him here. Do you find that this is a dangerous path he is heading down?” the MSNBC reporter added.
Tur’s question is a bit all over the place, and it’s not exactly clear what she’s trying to say. She wonders aloud if Trump is “almost” giving himself “an excuse” by refusing to criticize Putin.
She then says in the next breath that there have been a “couple dozen suspicious deaths of journalists in Russia” since Putin assumed control in 2000. Trump is supposedly giving himself “an excuse” to do what, exactly?
What is Tur saying?
A MSNBC spokesperson has not yet followed through on his offer to provide the Washington Examiner with a comment.
For at least one RedState contributor, it sounded an awful lot like Tur suggested Monday that Trump might move to have journalists assassinated.
“I wish I were making this up,” Mickey White wrote in a story headlined, “MSNBC Host Worries Donald Trump Will Start Killing Journalists.”
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This article has been updated to correct Sen. Fischer’s party affiliation.
