October 19, 2018

Trump Praises Congressman for Body-Slamming Reporter

“He is my kind of guy.”

Carolyn Kaster/AP

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.

President Donald Trump on Thursday lavished praise on Rep. Greg Gianforte, the Montana congressman who made headlines last year after body-slamming a reporter. Trump glowingly referring to Gianforte as “my kind of guy” because of the assault.

“Any guy that can do a body-slam, he is my kind of guy,” Trump told supporters at a rally in Missoula. “He’s my guy.” As the audience cheered, Trump continued to describe his reaction upon learning about the May 2017 assault against Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs. At the time, Jacobs had been attempting to ask Gianforte, then a congressional candidate in the special election to fill Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s seat, about the Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. An audio recording captured Gianforte becoming irritated by the line of questioning as sudden loud crashes are heard.

The president recalled: “So I was in Rome with a lot of the leaders from other countries talking about all sorts of things, and I heard about it…but I had heard that he body-slammed a reporter. And he was way up…and I said, ‘Oh this is terrible, he’s going to lose the election.'”

But, Trump added, after briefly doubting Gianforte’s chances, he decided that the assault might actually help Gianforte in the election: “I think it might help him—and it did!” Gianforte eventually did win; one month later, he pleaded guilty to assaulting Jacobs. He is now running to keep his seat.

In a statement Friday, White House Correspondents’ Association President Olivier Knox condemned the president, calling his praise of Gianforte’s assault  a “celebration of a crime.”

DECEMBER IS MAKE OR BREAK

A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

The December 31 deadline is closing in fast. To reach our $400,000 goal, we need readers who’ve never given before to join the ranks of MoJo donors. And we need our steadfast supporters to give again—any amount today.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do.

That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

DECEMBER IS MAKE OR BREAK

A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

The December 31 deadline is closing in fast. To reach our $400,000 goal, we need readers who’ve never given before to join the ranks of MoJo donors. And we need our steadfast supporters to give again—any amount today.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do.

That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate