Trump officials point finger at Democrats and the media for political violence in wake of correspondents' dinner shooting

Trump administrationTrump officials point finger at Democrats and the media for political violence in wake of correspondents' dinner shootingThe president struck a conciliatory tone Saturday night, but officials in his administration later accused news outlets and Democrats of fueling divisive rhetoric.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Trump administration officials on Monday went after Democrats and the media.Tasos Katopodis / Getty ImagesShareAdd NBC News to GoogleApril 27, 2026, 8:28 PM EDTBy Raquel Coronell UribePresident Donald Trump’s mollifying tone following Saturday night’s shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner has since given way to accusations and finger-pointing from top administration officials who say Democrats and the media are largely to blame for the state of political violence in the U.S.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, White House communications director Steven Cheung and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday bashed journalists and congressional Democrats for what they called divisive rhetoric.“The political violence and rhetoric has got to stop,” Blanche said, while suggesting that many members of the media had been complicit.“Many people in this room, if we’re going to be honest about it, have done it,” Blanche said to a room full of reporters. “They’re just as guilty as a lot of people on X when you have reporters, when you have media, media just being overly critical and calling the president horrible names for no reason and without evidence, without proof.”Cheung said in a statement to NBC News about Trump's future campaign travel plans that the president "continues to have a robust schedule and nothing will ever deter him from delivering historic wins for the American people. The violent rhetoric from deranged liberals and biased media outlets against the President manifeste...