The Trump administration is seizing on a misstatement by the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee about the November shooting of two West Virginia National Guard members in Washington to skewer the lawmaker as unbothered by the tragedy.
At a Thursday committee hearing on threats facing the United States, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the ranking member of the committee, initially called the shooting — which killed one service member and left another critically injured — an “unfortunate accident.” That misstatement immediately drew protest from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who was testifying at the hearing alongside the head of the National Counterterrorism Center and a senior FBI official.
“You think that was an unfortunate accident?” Noem said, notably offended. “That was a terrorist attack.” Thompson amended his comment to then describe the shooting as an unfortunate “situation.”
First, if this incident involved a Republican, it would be receiving far more media attention than it is now. Instead, the story has been framed as “Republicans pouncing” on Thompson, downplaying what was clearly an intentional statement (especially given his membership in a party long criticized for being soft on crime). Indeed, Thompson has been in politics long enough to know exactly what he was saying so this was not a slip of the tongue. He totally disrespected a murdered National Guardsman, and Secretary Noem had every right to be upset. But as usual, the liberal press is stepping in to shield Thompson from accountability.
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