Rick Sanchez: Trump’s Hillary-killing craziness began with media complicity

El candidato republicano a la presidencia, Donald Trump, habla durante un mitin de campaña en el Crown Arena, el martes 9 de agosto de 2016, en Fayetteville, North Carolina. (AP Foto/Evan Vucci) (ap)

Note to all Americans: When a presidential candidate opens his campaign with a hateful and offensive charge against an entire nationality, which in essence tells us he’s a bigot: believe him!

Remember this?

“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”
– Donald Trump’s presidential announcement, June 16, 2015

Who says something like that? Why offend the largest and fastest-growing minority group in the United States? What type of candidate insults an entire nationality? Many of us recognized right then and there that Donald Trump was – at best – an idiot not fit to be president, or – at worst –a bigot not fit to be president.

He knows exactly what he was suggesting. It was the assassination of a presidential candidate. Otherwise, why single out gun rights activists?  Why not activists opposed to immigration reform, abortion rights or any other constitutional issues before the Supreme Court?

— Rick Sanchez

Back then, I repeatedly warned of what was to come, so did some other Hispanic journalists. But for the most part, the media ignored us. Why? Because, in case you haven’t noticed, the media in the United States is a lot like Donald Trump, they generally know nothing about Latinos — nor do they give a crap about them; they simply don’t say it as plainly as he does.

What’s worse is what I heard on both prime time and morning shows almost every day after Trump’s “rapists” comment. News presenters were falling over each other to make excuses for Trump’s comments with many even defending his insult. They did so with words like, “that’s not really what he meant” or “he didn’t say all of them” or “he’s really tapping into something.”   

Fast-forward to the present as Trump offends one group after another and the outrage against him seems universal, leaving many of us to ask, Where was the indignation when he attacked Hispanics?

Trump – who has since questioned the heroism of a captured POW, attacked the parents of a KIA American Soldier, suggested we institute a Muslim ban, accused the majority of blacks of going around killing whites and consistently been cozied up to white supremacists with winks, nods and convenient denials – no longer has members of the media making excuses for him.  

And now, in what may be among the most outright disgraceful things any presidential candidate in modern times has ever done, Trump is suggesting that gun rights activists should consider assassinating his opponent.  

Yesterday at a rally in North Carolina, Trump unmistakably suggested that some of the “second amendment people” among his supporters could do something about Hillary Clinton.  

“If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks,” Trump said, as the crowd began to boo. He quickly added: “Although the Second Amendment people — maybe there is, I don’t know.”

He knows. He knows exactly what he was suggesting. It was the assassination of a presidential candidate. Otherwise, why single out gun rights activists? Why not activists opposed to immigration reform, abortion rights or any other constitutional issues before the Supreme Court? Amid the outrage, Trump is not exactly apologizing for his suggestion. In fact, he seems to think this “assassination” flap will help his candidacy.

“I have to say, in terms of politics, there is few things, and I happen to think that if [the media] did even bring this up, I think it’s a good thing for me,” Trump told Sean Hannity.

Yes, Trump has attacked, offended and insulted many people since the very first days of his campaign. In fact, he appears to almost revel in it, thinking perhaps that most Americans will enjoy, excuse or relate to his insults — just as the media did when he insulted Latinos.