Nicholas Kristof @NickKristof: I have attended countless press conferences in police states

[Passages]

from North Korea to Iran and I've never seen someone thrown to the ground and handcuffed for trying to ask questions -- let alone when it's a U.S. senator. Imagine if this had happened in China.

Link to tweet

We must not allow corporate media to normalize this for Trump.

[SheltieLover]

1. Kick

[BoRaGard]

2. k and r

[Attilatheblond]

3. k&r

[niyad]

4. KNR

[sop]

5. CNN said it "appears to be a stunt" to "create a moment."

Corporate media has already normalized it.

[Passages]

7. Our lawmakers' must speak in solidarity against this insanity.

[mountain grammy]

8. I'm sure Tapper is busy

Writing a new book bashing Democrats.

[calimary]

21. Not gonna listen and DEFINITELY not gonna buy.

I didn’t buy the book he’s hawking now. And won’t EVER.

[ShazzieB]

13. Way to go, CNN! 😡

CNN not only normalized the manhandling of anyone who asks a question at a public meeting, they obviously went out of their way to do so. How revoltingly sycophantic!

I hereby present CNN with the coveted SYCOPHANT award for this astounding act of toadying to the Trump regime!

[thesquanderer]

15. Are they saying it's a stunt perpetrated by Noem? Or a stunt perpetrated by Padilla? (n/t)

[sop]

18. Padilla.

[DENVERPOPS]

19. Every time anyone in Trump's CABAL

says or does anything, it's SOLE PURPOSE is to stage a video or soundbite for Fox Radio, and the plethora of other Major Republican Mass Media...

[Mtnmama]

20. Which host, guest

said that? I've been watching a lot of cnn, msnbc and don't recall that. Maybe I missed it.

[sop]

22. I heard the words "stunt" and "staged" used several times on CNN, used by hosts and guests.

I don't have links to videos, but I did review a couple of transcripts from the shows I was watching when the Padilla news broke. I quickly found these examples:

- Jake Tapper, The Lead with Jake Tapper (6/12/25): "He's being criticized by Republicans and the White House for staging a stunt and lunging at Secretary Noem."

- Kasie Hunt, The Arena (6/12/25), did a long segment with a "security analyst" who was very critical of Padilla's actions, brought up a lot of rightwing talking points, placed the blame on Senator Padilla.

- On Hunt's show, Kristen Holmes, CNN Senior White House Correspondent, said: "We just heard from Stephen Chung, who posted on X basically having Kristi Noem's back saying that this was a freak out on the part of Senator Padilla and saying shows the public what a complete lunatic Padilla is by rushing towards Secretary Noem and disturbing the informative press conference."

There's probably more, but I don't have the time to look for video links. As they always say on internet forums, "Do your own research."

[Mtnmama]

24. But no cnn host or joirnalist said

It was a stunt or staged? Of course cnn will have white house, republican people saying it was a stunt or staged. I put little to no credence in what they say.

[sop]

26. You do know that's not how it works on corporate media, particularly CNN, right?

Their "journalists" ask questions on their "news" shows, elicit the answers they're looking for from selected guests, and then create their narratives. Jake Tapper isn't going to say it was a staged stunt, he'll quote someone else who does. The words were spoken by CNN hosts and guests on their programs.

[Aaeia]

6. Just a step away

From shooting dissenters on sight.

[Passages]

9. I fear that too.

[NoMoreRepugs]

11. THIS.

[Pinback]

12. The frog isn't accustomed to that temperature yet

but they’re gradually turning up the heat to try to get us there.

[UTUSN]

10. K&R

[IrishBubbaLiberal]

14. Kick

Kik

[malaise]

16. THIS

Rec

[Joinfortmill]

17. That's because Trump & Co. are f*ckups extraordinaire.

[Cha]

23. This Better Blow Back on KN & Traitor Fuckhead!

[snot]

25. What Kristof said in defense of others silenced or marginalized before him

(Assange, Manning, Snowden, Hersch, Hedges, Greenwald, et al.):

:crickets:

At least nothing I could find by googling. Happy to be proven wrong.

[Passages]

27. 'Bombs can save lives' Though he claimed to be "ahead of the curve" on "failures in Afghanistan," Kristof was an early

liberal promoter of the US war and occupation there.

https://fair.org/home/kristofs-moralistic-journalism-was-often-full-of-holes/

You're not wrong about him, unfortunately.

[kimbutgar]

28. She needs to resign immediately for this audacity of violating the constitutional freedom of speech right

And it’s even more appalling that a US Senator of California was assaulted.