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There Should Be Firings Over the Way the Media Covered Yesterday's School Attack

Brad Slager
Brad Slager  |  Aug 28, 2025
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The assault by a transgender shooter at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, taking two lives and wounding over a dozen more, has shaken the country. It has also unsettled an already dismayed press industry, as journalists and news outlets have grappled with the uncomfortable realities exposed during their rush to cover a dramatic news event.

It was with expected fashion that there would be slobbering news coverage of another school shooting, but in the course of their breathless reports, the deeply inconvenient fact that the killer was a trans individual was revealed. This realization saw press members scrambling as they needed to shift narratives on the fly, and the stumbling and redirection this caused exposed many of the inherent problems with our press.

Today’s column will be centered on the disturbing coverage seen across the media spectrum while covering this story.

Low Octane Gas Lighting – ABC NEWS

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  • The sin of omission on brash display.

We start with what might be the worst example. In the immediate aftermath, ABC News correspondent Aaron Katersky was delivering some of the breaking details regarding the killer, as Townhall had done in rapid fashion on Wednesday afternoon. Listen to his rundown of the specifics as they had been revealed by Aaron.

Here is the subterfuge Katersky employed during this report. First, he does not mention at all that the shooter had been a transgender individual. Second, his blithe mention that Donald Trump’s name was on the gun used by the shooter was an intentional attempt to frame this as a Trump supporter. Not once, but in two locations on the weapon, the words that were written said “K**l Donald Trump”.

You cannot pass off these deceptions as being the result of the fog of breaking news and incomplete information arriving. Katersky was detailing the shooter based on having seen aspects of a manifesto, so he had to also be aware of the transgender makeup of this killer.

As for the “Trump” quote on the gun, Aaron was also fully aware of what was written. He detailed a number of other phrases that had been scrawled across the weapon, a clear indication that Aaron had seen the photos of the gun. So he chose to omit the detail that the shooter loathed Trump and wanted to “kill” the president.

Anti-Social Media – MSNBC

  • Yes, those people praying are CERTAINLY the problem!

For reasons that are rather clear, we once again were treated to a collection of media wizards who were deeply offended at the concept of people lending prayers following a tragedy. Jen Psaki, for one, was particularly bitter about the practice.

She later followed this up with a desperate attempt to deflect from the realities of the shooter. She went on the air to claim that there would be “narratives” that the shooter was trans, and that the shooter “appeared” to be anti-Trump. No, Jenny, the evidence shows that the shooter WAS a trans individual, and that the shooter WAS anti-Trump. Sorry, the facts interfere with YOUR narrative.

DNC PR Firm – CNN

  • We see far more aggression towards those who pray than towards a killer of children.

Also taking up the battle against the devout who dared to pray following this attack was Dana Bash. The CNN hostess gave all Democrat talking points airtime and invited Amy Klobuchar on to also politicize the shooting. Then, after watching the Mayor of Minneapolis rage about those of faith, she echoed his disturbing position.

  • "Forget about thoughts and prayers. These kids were literally praying when they were murdered through a church window.”

News Avoidance Syndrome – USA TODAY

  • Moving away from the shooter, those other guys are really bad!

The national newspaper really strained the effort to dodge mentioning the trans aspect to the extreme. Wanting to avoid addressing the shooter outright, instead, the paper strove to find any other influence with which to lay blame. One was to invoke ICE raids, as a means of showing churches have become a target…in some bizarre effort at deflection.

Pre-Written Field Reports – ABC NEWS

  • Okay, Mary? Are you aware what the current controversy involving President Trump has been?!

At ABC News' “World News Tonight,” Mary Bruce was covering the Minnesota attack, and she went to find blame where she was certain it would be found – the White House. Yes, she managed to find a way to claim President Trump bore some sort of responsibility.

In her zeal to cast this blame, what was lost on the seasoned newswoman was that she was attempting to blame the man who is currently on a mission to (are you paying attention, Mary?), end crime. In D.C., the effort to send National Guard troops into the district has led to a sharp drop in crimes, including an extended period with a lack of homicides.

Oh, and in addition to that, Ms. Bruce, members of the press - such as yourself - have been raging at the president for daring to address crime issues.

Legalized Press-titution – CNN

  • Taking care not to offend a mass murderer.

In one of the few examples of the press willing to admit that the shooter was a transgender individual, we have Jake Tapper taking care to go with accuracy -- because worrying that he uses the proper pronouns for a killer is the priority, when detailing the news of children attacked and murdered.

  • "Robin Westman's mother applied to change her child's name in 2019. It was at one point Robert Paul Westman. But since she identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification was underage, it's now Robin Westman."

Matching Media Memorandum – VARIOUS OUTLETS

  • Getting this wrong could lead to all manner of social upheaval for these news sources!

As the reality of the killer being trans crept across the journo-sphere, many other outlets undertook what was seen as the most important aspect of this news story: Get those pronouns expressed properly!

Pounce of Prevention – THE DAILY BEAST

  • With a story of this magnitude, the worst aspect is that Republicans notice!

Leave it to this septic news outlet to turn its focus on what it prefers to lay the blame upon - anyone on the political Right. As a result, the Beast managed to find what was really offensive about this school shooting - people on the Right noticed the shooter was a trans individual!

What these wizards at the Beast fail to grasp is that in saying this, they are ultimately admitting that the press does not want to address that reality.