Is political rhetoric and social media to blame for New Zealand terror attack?

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Is political rhetoric and social media to blame for New Zealand terror attack?

Authorities say at least 49 people were killed and more than 40 people were injured when an apparent white supremacist attacked two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand; reaction and analysis from the 'Special Report' All-Star panel.

This is a rush transcript from "Special Report," March 15, 2019. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACINDA ARDERN, NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER: It is clear that this is one of New Zealand's darkest days. Clearly what has happened here is an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT: Earlier today I spoke with Prime Minister Ardern of New Zealand to express the sorrow of our entire nation following the monstrous terror attacks at two mosques. These sacred places of worship were turned into scenes of evil killing. I told the prime minister that the United States is with them all the way, 100 percent, whatever they need. We will be there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: At least 49 people killed as a heavily armed man who livestreamed the event went into two different mosques, killing people. As you heard, the president condemning that violence. He was asked after this news conference -- after this event in the Oval Office whether he thought white nationalism was on the rise around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I think it's a small group of people that have very, very serious problems. I guess if you look at what happened in New Zealand, perhaps that's the case. I don't know enough about it yet. They are just learning about the person and the people involved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRET BAIER, HOST: A number of Democrats hopped on this, and they have tied this attack to the president. Kirsten Gillibrand, running for president, "Time and time again this president has embraced and emboldened white supremacists and instead of condemning racist terrorists he covers for them. This isn't normal or acceptable. We have to be better than this."

We'll start there with the panel. Let's bring in our panel, "Washington Post" columnist Marc Thiessen, Mollie Hemingway, senior editor at "The Federalist," and Josh Kraushaar, he political editor at the "National Journal." Marc?

MARC THIESSEN, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: So there seems to be -- any time there is an incident like this, there seems to be a reflex on the left to, one, blame Donald Trump, and, two, blame guns. And these are the same people who said a few years ago it was absolutely outrageous to suggest when a member of the resistance, a Bernie Sanders volunteer, tried to assassinate Steve Scalise on a baseball field, that we would even raise the possibility that their rhetoric was responsible. But they immediately jump at blaming Donald Trump for this.

It's not Donald Trump's fault that this happened. It's not even guns. If you want to find someone to blame, social media is a good place to start. Social media is not guns. Social media is the accelerant that allows these things to happen. This guy, he livestreamed it on Facebook. He then reposted it on YouTube. There was a discussion of it on Reddit where they are spreading his ideology. He posted on Twitter and on Scribit his 74- page manifesto, and then he announced it in advance on 8chan. So they are using social media not just to publicize their activities but then also to link up. This is how it used to be extremists were sitting in a basement somewhere and they couldn't communicate with anybody. Now these extremists can go on social media, communicate with each other, spread their hateful ideology, and push people into this violent frenzy that we saw unleashed in New Zealand.

BAIER: Josh, administration officials and the president condemning this attack, offering support to New Zealand, and yet this kind of comes all together today.

JOSH KRAUSHAAR, POLITICAL EDITOR, "NATIONAL JOURNAL": Yes, Bret. It would be a welcomed gesture for President Trump not just to respond in the Oval Office but to give a speech condemning anti-Muslim bigotry and really giving a real message from the White House to the rest of the world that this type of rhetoric that inspired this white supremacist killer is absolutely unacceptable.

But I think Marc's point is really important, the globalization of hate, the fact that someone's crazy views can spread at warp speed across the Internet. I think there's a lot of responsibility on Facebook, Twitter, and these social media platforms. According to the reporting, the Facebook didn't know about the social media posts that showed this crime, this killing. They had to be informed by the New Zealand police. This is the - - these are the leading companies of the world and they are slow at the uptick to figure out to police this type of rhetoric.

BAIER: Mollie?

MOLLIE HEMINGWAY, SENIOR EDITOR, "THE FEDERALIST": Sadly, as we get more information on mass shootings we learn a little bit more about how they occur and how they spread. And much research indicates that there are certain things that you should do if you don't want it to spread further. You shouldn't highlight who the person who has committed the act of terror is. You should highlight the victims. In this case there are 49 people who were gunned down in their house of worship for being Muslim. And that's something that you should focus on.

You also shouldn't take the manifesto that might be written and fuel it or publish it or share it with people. And unfortunately --

BAIER: And we haven't.

HEMINGWAY: But I do think there has been an aspect of a lot of media coverage that has sort of taken what the manifesto said. It said it wanted to provoke race hatred. It wanted to provoke people into fighting about different things, particularly in the United States. It mentioned certain people in order to fuel that kind of discussion. So I think responsible media outlets should make sure that they're careful about how they talk about it so that these acts of hatred don't further spread. And to that extend sometimes downplaying the significance of what the hater believed can be helpful, and just focusing people on loving one another and not letting these acts of evil overcome.

BAIER: All right, let's turn to North Korea. News here. This is from the Associated Press. "On our way back," this is from the vice foreign minister, "On our way back to the homeland our chairman of the state affairs commission said, "For what reason do we have to make this train trip again?" I want to make it clear that the gangster-like stand of the U.S. will eventually put the situation in danger. We have neither the intention to compromise with the U.S. in any form nor much less the desire or plan to conduct this kind of negotiation. What is clear is that the U.S. has thrown away a golden opportunity this time. This time we understood very clearly that the United States has a very different calculation to ours."

Here's the national security advisor and the secretary of state.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BOLTON, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: I think that's inaccurate. But the president is our decisionmaker.

MIKE POMPEO, SECRETARY OF STATE: They're wrong about that. And I was there. My relationship with Kim Yong-chol is professional. We have detailed conversations. I expect that we will continue to do that. In Hanoi on multiple occasions he spoke directly to the president and made a commitment that he would not resume nuclear testing, nor would he resume missile testing. So, that's Chairman Kim's word. We have every expectation that he will live up to that commitment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: I don't know if everybody does, Marc.

THIESSEN: They use that same term, gangster-like mindset, last summer to describe Mike Pompeo when he showed up in Pyongyang and said, no, we are not lifting sanctions until you actually denuclearize. So this is a repeat. They thought maybe they would have better luck with Donald Trump and they were wrong.

I think this is a sign that what Donald Trump is doing is working because what he is doing is he is willing to talk. He is willing to even give Kim the prestige of the summit and the visibility and the respect that comes with that. He's willing to be pen pals with him and write mash notes back and forth with the guy. But he is not going to lift sanctions on him until they denuclearize. And this is very frustrating to Kim because their playbook that he got from his father is we blow up a useless nuclear facility and then you give us billions of dollars. And Trump is not playing the game. So they are very frustrated because they thought these love letters going back and forth, that means we will be able to go to playbook number one, and it's not working.

BAIER: Next up, the Friday lightning round. The president's first veto, Beto-mania, plus winners and losers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Yesterday Congress passed a dangerous resolution that if signed into law would put countless Americans in danger, very grave danger. Therefore, to defend the safety and security of all Americans, I will be signing and issuing a formal veto. People hate the word "invasion," but that's what it is. It's an invasion of drugs and criminals.

Congress has the freedom to pass this resolution, and I have the duty to veto it.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER, D-N.Y., SENATE MINORITY LEADER: I believe the law allows us to bring it up every six months, and certainly we would intend to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: President Trump vetoing this effort to scale back or say there is not a national emergency on the border. Surrounded by sheriffs, families who lost loved ones to illegal immigrants who crossed the border. Also the attorney general spoke about how he said there it was constitutional and he would fight it in court if it comes to that. We are back with the panel. Mollie?

HEMINGWAY: I think the biggest threat to the republic is that Congress has voluntarily ceded all this authority that it has in the Constitution to the executive branch, letting these agencies in that branch of government pass laws essentially and enforce them. And they have just let that happen. So it's always a good thing when Congress is trying to reassert its authority, and they should do that here.

In this case it was actually a much more tricky situation, and you saw this in the way that Republicans divided on which way to vote. Technically Trump had the legal authority to do what he did. He was following the law. He was using appropriate funds for an authorized project. So I think the constitutional argument might be with him. But Congress needs to keep fighting to reassert its authority and not just doing it when Trump does something he doesn't like. And they also need to care a lot about the border so that we don't have situations like this as well.

BAIER: OK, turning to politics, Beto-mania. We have been covering it because, well, it's just gets so much air time, Josh. We want to analyze the moment, analyze the substance, but there is not tremendous amount of substance about some of these answers.

KRAUSHAAR: That's right. I am not bullish on Beto. I think he is more of a celebrity fad candidate. And he didn't even win his Senate race. And you don't see losing Congressional candidates typically jump to the presidential campaign.

But I think there is one bigger obstacle that he faces, which is the primary calendar. Iowa and New Hampshire are older states that don't necessarily appeal to Beto's strength of younger white voters in the Democratic Party. And he struggles with African-American voters. He's going to have a real challenge running up against Kamala Harris and Joe Biden potentially in South Carolina. So I don't even see his path in the early states.

BAIER: Marc?

THIESSEN: This is the ultimate expression of the participation trophy culture on the left. He didn't even win a Senate race. At least Barack Obama won a Senate race before he immediately announced for president. People thought that was ridiculous. He hadn't even done anything in the Senate. Here the guy lost. He got a participation trophy in the Senate race and he thinks is he qualified to run for president of the United States.

BAIER: We shall see.

All right, winners and losers. Winner first. Marc?

THIESSEN: Mike Pompeo is my winner because he announced this week that he's denying visas to officials from the International Criminal Court who want to come here to investigate us for war crimes in Afghanistan. The International Criminal Court is a sham U.N. court that we never joined, never signed, never ratified, and they presume to sit in judgment and have the power to try and convict Americans, and he is telling what they can do with their investigation.

BAIER: And loser?

THIESSEN: My loser is Kirsten Gillibrand who opposed Brett Kavanaugh's nomination over unsubstantiated accusations and was the author of the Congressional Harassment Reform Act to crack down on harassment on Capitol Hill. Guess what, "Politico" reported this week that a male staffer in her office was making unwanted sexual advances and she stood with the harasser. So she is a Me Too hypocrite.

BAIER: Oh dear. Winner and loser, Josh?

KRAUSHAAR: Winner, UVA basketball. We're heading into March Madness. They're the top team in the country. They do it the right way. Coach Tony Bennett recruits players that stay there for all four years. They learn, they have good academic records, and they're going to be a pretty imposing team in the tournament. Loser is Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, the two celebrities at the heart of that college corruption scandal. And the whole scandal speaks a lot to how celebrities feel like college is as much a license as it is for you're actually learning in school.

BAIER: Winner and loser, Mollie?

HEMINGWAY: My winner is Sully who is the service dog named after Captain Sully Sullenberger who was also serving President George H. W. Bush in his final months. He won the Paw of Courage Award from the American Kennel Club. And my loser is Artemis, who is the cover dog who appeared on "Vanity Fair" with Beto O'Rourke. And it was a great spot, but people noticed that the dog seemed to be very sad, almost feeling trapped. Some thought he might have clinical depression, or she, Artemis. Sorry. So we put a word out for all those political dogs who are having to do work for their owners there.

(LAUGHTER)

BAIER: Sad face. OK, thank you, panel.

When we come back, "Notable Quotables."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: Finally tonight, it is Friday. That means "Notable Quotables."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is no place in New Zealand for such acts of extreme and unprecedented violence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have told those who disgrace the concept of human dignity they will pay a price.

SCHUMER: The United States of America has no king and we never will.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I intend to bring impeachment to a vote.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's why we caucus.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The cow is out of the barn.

TRUMP: We are going to be issuing an emergency order of prohibition to ground all flights of the 737 MAX 8 and the 737 MAX 9.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Order.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The comb story was me sort of doing a mom thing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They flaunted their wealth, sparing no expense to cheat the system so they could set their children up for success with the best education money could buy, literally.

REP. NANCY PELOSI, D-CALIF., HOUSE SPEAKER: I think it's really important to capture kids when they are in high school.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They can go to Tinder and find a date tonight to find special person who is going to make the difference in their life.

TRUMP: He has got a lot hand movement. I have never seen so much hand movement. I said, is he crazy or is that just the way he acts?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Smollett enters a plea not guilty.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't have a beef with this sentence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This budget has just sort of an Alice in Wonderland document.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trump is going to get the money.

TRUMP: And may we all be blessed by the luck of the Irish. That's a good thing, the luck of the Irish.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: The luck of the Irish. Saint Patrick's Day this weekend. Happy Saint Patrick's Day to all of you. There is a lot of Irish or people who say they are Irish out there. Have a great weekend.

Thanks for inviting us into your home tonight. That's it for this “Special Report,” fair, balanced, and unafraid. "The Story" guest hosted by my friend Harris Faulkner starts right now.

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