MSNBC, ABC, others vigorously defend Trump ‘bloodbath’ coverage: ‘We did not miss the full context’

After prominent media networks took heat for running headlines that skimped on important context of former President Trump's "bloodbath" comment, MSNBC, ABC News and others have seemingly doubled down on their criticism of the 2024 candidate.

Politico's headline stated, "Trump says country faces 'bloodbath' if Biden wins in November." An NBC News headline stated, "Trump says there will be a 'bloodbath' if he loses the election." The headline for CBS News stated, "In Ohio campaign rally, Trump says there will be a "bloodbath" if he loses November election."

Most headlines did not mention Trump was referring to his opinion of the state of the automotive industry should President Biden win another term.

On Sunday, Mary Bruce opened ABC "World News Tonight" by announcing that the Trump campaign was on the "defensive" after the former president had engaged in "fiery rhetoric."

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Prominent figures on ABC and MSNBC are defending the media coverage of former President Donald Trump's "bloodbath" comment.  (ABC/MSNBC/screenshot/MIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

"Trump warning while discussing the economy that there would be a quote 'bloodbath' if he is not re-elected in November," Bruce said.

The reporting was based on statements made by Trump during a Saturday rally in Ohio, where he mentioned putting tariffs on Chinese-made cars that China would sell to Americans.

"We're going to put a 100% tariff on every single car that comes across the line, and [China's] not going to be able to sell those cars if I get elected," he said.

"Now, if I don't get elected, it's going to be a bloodbath for the whole – that's gonna be the least of it. It's going to be a bloodbath for the country. That will be the least of it. But they're not going to sell those cars. They're building massive factories," Trump added.

The Biden-Harris campaign later released a statement slamming Trump for his words, accusing him of speaking about actual violence rather than economic consequences.

"This is who Donald Trump is: a loser who gets beat by over 7 million votes and then instead of appealing to a wider mainstream audience doubles down on his threats of political violence," it said. "He wants another January 6, but the American people are going to give him another electoral defeat this November because they continue to reject his extremism, his affection for violence, and his thirst for revenge."

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Media outlets previously seized on former President Donald Trump using the word "bloodbath" during his rally in Vandalia, Ohio on Saturday. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

While several media networks have acknowledged that Trump was speaking about car manufacturing in America when referring to a hypothetical "bloodbath," pundits are continuing to suggest Trump's language had a dangerous subtext.

On Sunday, an ABC News "Powerhouse Roundtable" saw the panel try to contextualize Trump's recent comments within his overall rhetoric over the past eight years.

The New Yorker staff writer Susan Glasser began the discussion by claiming journalists are still struggling to determine how they should cover Trump's "unhinged, rambling rants."

"I think in a way, we are all desensitized and inured to the extraordinarily remarkable and very at times un-American and threatening things that the former president is saying. I'm not saying it's easy to understand how to cover it. I think we have to cover it," she said.

"When the former president, who's already incited violence among his followers, says that there's going to be a bloodbath. What? After the election, if he does not win, he is telling us what he is going to do," Glasser continued.

MSNBC's "Inside with Jen Psaki" also waded into the debate surrounding Trump's rhetoric when the former Biden White House press secretary seemed to mock those who asked the media to consider the "full context."

"Well, if they want us to consider the 'full context,' let's do just that," Psaki said.

The host took issue with Trump calling Capitol rioters "patriots" during that same rally and Trump's concerns that 2024 could be the last election in the U.S. if he doesn't emerge victorious. She also pushed an old claim that Trump said there were "very fine people" on "both sides" of the far-right Charlottesville rally in 2017.

Psaki suggested, among other things, that Trump has "dehumanized" people and embraced political violence for years.

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MSNBC historian Michael Beschloss compared former President Donald Trump to past dictators despite acknowledging his "bloodbath" comment was about the automobile industry.  (MSNBC/Screenshot/KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

"We all know by now that Trump's allusions to political violence are not merely rhetorical—his supporters take them literally. That's part of the big problem here. And he knows that too," Psaki said. "So no, we did not miss the full context. This was not some meandering off-message comment. This is his message."

Conversations about Trump's "bloodbath" comment continued over on "The View," where co-host Sara Haines admitted on Monday that she had a "slightly different context" when she watched the video of Trump's rally versus the media's reporting on it.

Haines said that although she understood Trump was talking about cars and automobiles, he also sounded "slightly incoherent," which led to an interjection from co-host Sunny Hostin, who claimed Trump had a "limited vocabulary."

When Trump started to discuss the impact of the upcoming election, Haines said she could almost begin to follow his "irrational thought process."

"I don't think it was too much of a stretch that the media was running with. I do think that some people then saying this is the sound of like a new insurrection and all this, they were running a little too far. You can't just claim coherence when you like what he says," Haines added.

MSNBC historian Michael Beschloss on Monday attempted to draw a connection between Trump's candidacy and the elements of fascism that led to the Holocaust in Nazi Germany.  

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Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump arrives to speak at a Buckeye Values PAC Rally in Vandalia, Ohio, on March 16, 2024.  (KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

"In a way, Donald Trump has made it easier because when he tells you he'll be a dictator for a day — we all know that dictators don't resign after a day. When he uses the word 'bloodbath,' yes it was in the context of an automobile industry speech, but he knew exactly what he was saying," Beschloss later added.

Biden-Harris HQ has released an advertisement that brings up many of the same perspectives found across liberal media coverage when it comes to Trump's comment.

"NEW AD: Many MAGA Republicans are saying Trump's "bloodbath" comment should be put in context. So, we put it in context," the Biden-Harris HQ social media account wrote alongside the video.

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Critics of the media coverage of Trump's comment pointed out that pundits and journalists have repeatedly used the term "bloodbath" to describe things utterly devoid of physical violence.

Notable figures such as Rachel Maddow, Mika Brzezinski, Van Jones, Jake Tapper, Don Lemon, Joy Reid and Whoopi Goldberg have all used the term "bloodbath" to discuss elections, layoffs and more.

When asked about Trump's comments by NBC News, his campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said, "Biden's policies will create an economic bloodbath for the auto industry and autoworkers."