Trump Criticizes 'War Hawk' Liz Cheney, Sparks Divided Coverage

During a conversation with Tucker Carlson, former President Trump called former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) a "radical war hawk," saying, "Let’s put her with the rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her. OK, let’s see how she feels about it. You know, when the guns are trained on her face."

From the Left: Several outlets on the left said Trump "used violent language" or "embraced violent rhetoric." The Washington Post (Lean Left bias) said Trump "suggested" Cheney should have guns trained on her face. CNN (Left bias) said, "Trump says ‘war hawk’ Liz Cheney should be fired upon in escalation of violent rhetoric against his opponents" and Daily Beast (Left bias) published, "Trump Fantasizes About Shooting Female Rival in the Face."

Misleading Coverage: Drudge Report (Center bias), a news aggregator, frequently adds its own titles to third-party articles. Drudge Report linked to the Washington Post piece under the title "Trump Calls for Cheney's Execution." MSNBC (digital news rated Left) highlighted Drudge Report's headline, using it to critique Trump's rhetoric and news outlets that have defended Trump. 

From the Right: Many outlets on the right criticized Drudge Report, and outlets on the left for their coverage. A writer at The Blaze (Right bias) said "desperate" media used Trump's quote to "scaremonger voters into believing their narrative that Trump is a fascist and wannabe dictator." The New York Post (Lean Right) said "Left-leaning media suffered a nervous breakdown over the comments." A Daily Caller (Right bias) opinion writer added that numerous outlets "ran pearl-clutching or outright misleading headlines about Trump’s hypothetical that Cheney should have skin in the game and try facing enemy fire before sending American soldiers into battle to do her dirty work."