Katy Tur, writes in her book, how trump scarily threatened her in 2015

[empedocles]

emptywheel

February 12, 2021/70 Comments/in 2016 Election, 2016 Presidential Election, emptywheel, Impeachment, January 6 Insurrection, Media, Press and Media, Trump Administration /by Peterr

Katy Tur at SXSW
[h/t nrkbeta Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0) ]

. . .

' . . . Right before lunch the next day, Hope Hicks wrote her to say “Katy, Mr. Trump thought your tweets from last night were disgraceful. Not nice! Best, Hope.” Shortly thereafter, the media gets the word about the travel ban Trump intended to announce that night, and that becomes the big story of the day with Katy doing liveshots all afternoon. That evening, before a rally inside the USS Yorktown (an aircraft carrier-turned-museum in Charleston harbor), Trump blasted her with four attack tweets in the span of four minutes.

Tur says the rally’s specific location was a surprise, in that it wasn’t held on the carrier deck but inside the belly of the ship, with the media crowded into a pen.

. . .

Trump starts his rambling speech, and the crowd eats it up. Then Trump opens up on the media.

“The mainstream media,” Trump says. “These people back here, they’re the worst. They are so dishonest.”

Hoots and hollers.

And then I hear my name.

“She’s back there, little Katy. She’s back there.”

Trump then calls her a liar several times, and a third rate reporter several times as well, before pivoting to a more general attack on the media. Finally, once he’s got the crowd sufficiently whipped up, he formally announces the Muslim ban, and the crowd which she described earlier as looking at her like “a large animal, angry and unchained” went nuts.

. . .

A couple of minutes later, I’m done. The crowd that had gathered behind my live shot is gone except for a few stragglers, yelling at me. They’re five feet away, held back by those lousy bicycle racks. A Trump staffer shoos them away. MSNBC has cleared me and my bosses want [her cameraman/sound tech] Anthony and me to get out of there as quickly as we can. I don’t quite understand why until we pack up and start to head out. A Trump staffer stops me and says “These guys are going to walk you out.”

I look over and see two Secret Service agents. Thank goodness. They walk Anthony and me along the gangway back to our car. It’s pitch black and I’m nervous. We’re parked with the crowd.

Once we’re moving, I take a look at my phone. My mom has called. And called. And called. I dial her back. “Are you okay? Where are you staying? Can someone stay with you? You need security!? She is crying. And it hits me.

I’m a target.

On that day in December 2015, the security professionals of the US Secret Service recognized that Trump was dangerously inciting a mob, and stepped in to protect the target he had singled out.

On January 6, 2021, Trump again incited a mob, and this time there was no one to stop them.'

[trump is consistently a monster]



https://www.emptywheel.net/2021/02/12/flashbacks-to-the-2015-campaign/

[soothsayer]

1. He's sick

[elleng]

43. and dragging ### thousands along with him.

Who'da thunk that would be so easy?

:shru:

[empedocles]

2. Deeply sick for a long time

[a kennedy]

3. and yet his "pals" in the Senate didn't have the to balls to vote to impeach his orange ass.

[True Dough]

4. He's a bully through and through

And the ReThugs cower.

[jaxexpat]

8. But he's their bully. They think they've grown adept at holding the tiger by it's tail.

[Hortensis]

5. Good clue to The Real Donald Trump. Meanness and vicious vindictiveness are his norm.

Having the power to act it out to the degree he has so far was something new.

This reminds me of something I've wondered about for some time now:

How is it that over 200,000,000 grown Americans have now watched a man with a very obvious and bad personality disorder act it out daily as president of the United States! but most still don't know personality disorders are very real and very common? The word narcissism is tossed in here and there, but never any real discussion of what studies have found.

What should now be an important advance in awareness has been rejected so that most are as ignorant as pre-Trump, and that was already strange given how common personality disorders are. WHY? HOW is this even possible?

Is it a manifestation of this era's anti-science and anti-expertise pathology? Does some of it stem from conflict between this reality and the righteousness of religion's punishments?

Psychiatrists diagnose and mostly fail to treat personality disorders every day, for god's sake. Mental health, social work professionals, and courts try to rescue their victims every day.

Before long a half million and more Americans will be dead; shouldn't the entire nation have already wondered if Trump's egging his mobs on to spread the disease could have anything to do with his rage at his crowd size being smaller than Obama's, and the constant failures since of Americans to give him the adulation he wants?

[empedocles]

9. My sense of trump supporters, leads me back to the support for the worst, 'crazy',

dictators.

Generally the worst of the old Southern, racist governors could get pretty weird.

On a personal level I had a very decent seeming neighbor from Chile, who was quietly absolute in her support of Pinochet - baffling, though the economy there was better before the world wide mineral deflation.

The need to hate seems big among the Capitol trump terrorists.

Muse, muse, muse.

[Hortensis]

25. They and wannabe dictators have been extensively studied.

Including your neighbor from Chile. Mine's a neighbor from Iran, a very nice woman who feels as she "should" on all topics until we get to politics. We'd be much better off if we only had an authoritarian government like Iran's. We only discussed politics once.

The point I'm trying to make, though is that electing a vicious nutcase like Trump was only possible because of the determined ignorance and unbelievable negligence of the large majority supposedly "normal" people, NOT because the usual angry quarter of those who vote thrilled to his promises to lead a giant mob to smash what they hate and fear.

What's NOT "crazy" about this? We refuse to let pederasts babysit our children, but we'll elect sociopaths and even psychopaths to lead our nation? Refusing to face what crazy is meets my criteria.

[MyOwnPeace]

15. Great post, Hortensis!

You have identified a serious problem with "He-who-should-never-have-been-president" - but it all points to the true root of the problem - the lack of respect and understanding of mental illness.
A very qualified candidate running for major office, Thomas Eagleton (George McGovern's running mate), quit his campaign when it was announced that he had been treated for bouts of depression.
Isn't THAT ironic - how so many of us are now feeling that way after the RepubliCons' failure to find BunkerBoy guilty!
A better understanding of mental illness and a new respect for it would truly help "Make America Great Again." (yeah, another bit of irony, huh? )

[llmart]

19. Terrific post.

It's something I've thought about many times over the past five years of his reign of terror. Sometimes I read posts by DU'ers who I can tell do not have a clear understanding of how dangerous and sick these people with narcissistic personality disorders are. I started learning about NPD when I encountered a boss with it. I had no idea how to characterize it at the time or what it was. I read extensively on how to recognize it and the definitive hallmarks of those with NPD and how difficult, if not impossible it is to diagnose for some mental health professionals because many of them are just that good at manipulating people, even trained psychologists.

Best thing I ever did for myself was to learn about personality disorders, especially NPD. If you don't already know this, the number one hallmark of someone with NPD is a complete lack of empathy. Does anyone here doubt that he is the poster child for NPD?

I will say though that there have been many posts on here about hundreds of psychiatrists and psychologists who had signed letters and alerted people to trump's mental illness. But there was nothing they or we could do to get the GOP to 25th amendment him.

[tanyev]

6. Hicks closes her threatening tweet with "Best, Hope"?

Honestly, that tweet sounds like it was dictated by Trump.

[BradAllison]

10. He surrounds himself with fellow sociopaths. (n/m)

[Blue_playwright]

13. I don't like her but

It was probably set up in her email program to auto fill. Lol

[trueblue2007]

47. COULDN'T KATIE TUR HAVE SUED TRUMP? The threats to her life and other Media people

they are real. I heard what he called them. Horrible, filthy names. She should still be afraid. Trump is a monster.

[Hekate]

50. Trump has spent his entire life swatting off lawsuits like flies. He's a billionaire. Little people

...of which Katy Tur is one, can bankrupt themselves trying to sue him. His bankruptcies are nothing to him — but little people find their credit is ruined, and their lives are ruined, and they still have to pay the lawyer they hired.

Major media companies have lawyers and can choose to defend their own. But what does Trump care? The man is a monster in human form. He’s a mob boss.

[smirkymonkey]

7. Wow, that is frightening.

It's quite obvious that Jan 6th wasn't his first go at this and he is quite aware of what his words can do to turn a vicious mob on his percieved "enemies".

He is an evil, hateful, vengeful bully and I don't think for one second that he will slink away quietly and let these "wrongs" against him go unpunished. We have not seen the last of his dirty tricks.

[llmart]

21. Two nights ago on ABC Nightly News, David Muir was interviewing Jonathan Karl.

When asked what to expect if Trump is acquitted, Karl said, "You will immediately see him out in public crowing about his "win" and then he will immediately get to work exacting revenge on those Republicans who crossed him."

So, you are very correct in your description of what is to come. We can only hope (and maybe be vigilant against) news media outside of Fox will not give him the time of day. I, for one, will write news outlets if they continue to cover his every fart and tell them I'm boycotting their news and the sponsors. Maybe that's not such a big deal, but I refuse to have them shove him down our throats when we have so many pressing important things going on in our country that our real President Biden is dealing with.

[RVN VET71]

11. I hope mortality catches him and slowly works it's way to the hole in his chest where his heart used

I hope his mind is visited with a clarity it never harbored so he can see that his hideous passing is karma and his life a fraud ending in a drygasm. I hope his body is so infested with worms and maggots he cannot be laid out in state. I hope his family gets ill from the smell of his dying, flesh-rotting body and his croaking calls for water and Tab. I hope when his eyes finally close over his bleeding eye-balls he is alone, in a darkened room, with only the murmur of a respirator and the wheezing sounds of his dying breaths for company.

The most despicable man ever to enter into U.S. politics and strip it of honor and meaning.

[MyOwnPeace]

16. You DO have a special way

to bring words to life - and I'm with you on this one!!!!

[Ilsa]

20. I want him to know he is dying so he struggles,

knows he will be unviewable, and afraid. I'd like for him to hear endless sermons from Fundamentalists on the fires of Hell he'll be tormented in forever.

But mostly, I'd like for him to see the end of Putin's reign, and for reporters to frequently find "the man on the street" who says "Donald who? Never heard of him."

[dalton99a]

30. +1. No massive cardiac arrest or hemorrhagic stroke.

His beautiful and perfect demise should be natural, slow, agonizing, excruciating, humiliating, and without relief

[2naSalit]

12. ...

[MyOwnPeace]

17. If only there was a way

to have that little bit of a "golden roof" hanging off of the front of his head - it would be the PERFECT campaign poster for IQ45!!!

[Paladin]

14. trump will never ever change.

He'll be a threat to decent people and democracy until he draws his last breath.

[North Shore Chicago]

18. Life to him

is a WWF event, whipping up the whackadoos for a nothing sandwich!

[SayItLoud]

22. Iran, if you're listening.

He plays golf every day. Same places. Same times. Nice clear skies. Perfect drone weather ..." a lot of people are saying".

[Traildogbob]

23. I wish the media

Would stop immediately, talking about how QOP and Dems are terrified of him and his base. They thrive on that and it emboldens their hate and power. Like throwing huge chucks prime meat into a pond packed with gators. It fuels them and sustained their existence. Stop it places. Then hearing the capital police were terrified, like heroine to an addict. No, more like pure meth to an addict, it ramps them up to viciousness.

[PatSeg]

24. He is such a monster

It is easy to believe that he didn't care if Mike Pence was killed during the insurrection.

[empedocles]

28. traitortrump did care, it seems, he wanted pence and Pelosi both killed - resulting

in great turmoil.

[PatSeg]

31. Well yeah

In that sense he cared. I don't think he ever could stand Pence anyway. As much as Trump likes surrounding himself with sycophants, he also hates them for it and sees them as weak. And of course, he viewed Pence as standing between him and four more years as president, so that made him a reasonable sacrifice.

The only human life that Trump values is his own. Everyone else is just a replaceable pawn. Classic tyrant.

[Captain Zero]

48. of course, it would have resulted in chaos ONLY HE COULD FIX

and I'm sure Stephen Miller, Pompeo and Bannon were ready with the SOLUTIONS for him.

[empedocles]

49. Yep

[Kid Berwyn]

26. Witness to Evil.

If only there were a public forum for the world to hear her story!

[NJCher]

32. It would make a good segment for

a program like "60"."

Maybe I'll send it in as a suggestion, in view of the fact that the republicons failed in their responsibility to the country.

[Kid Berwyn]

34. Katy Tur describes her ordeal and thoughts on the big picture.

From the Commonwealth Club of California:

Over the course of 16 months, NBC and MSNBC correspondent Tur took the high road as she devoted her life to covering the 2016 presidential campaign and in particular now-President Donald Trump. A former foreign correspondent, Tur began her stint on the Trump campaign under the impression that she’d be back home in London in just six weeks, but her experiences on the campaign trail altered her career and life forever. From being publicly asked by candidate Trump to “be quiet” during a press conference to needing Secret Service protection to escort her to her car safely, Tur received personal and professional critiques from President Trump and beyond on a regular basis.

It didn’t stop there: she was threatened by rowdy crowds both online and in her everyday life, but in response, thousands of her supporters took to Twitter to applaud her efforts. By the end of the campaign, Tur was a new journalism star, and at just 33, her profile continues to rise. Today, she’s a correspondent for NBC News and an MSNBC Live anchor.

In her new book, Tur shares her eye-opening, first-hand accounts of being an embed reporter on the 2016 presidential campaign, her thoughts on the current media landscape and President Trump, while exposing the intrigue and power at play in the 2016 election.

[Mr. Ected]

27. America knew exactly who this man was in November 2016 and November 2020

This story isn't a revelation.

Unfortunately, Katy Tur works for an organization that, like most others of its ilk, aided and abetted the menace by cloaking it in a protective coat historically afforded our Presidents. To be unwilling or unable to discern the difference between this existential threat to our democracy and any other politician in his position was unforgivable.

[NJCher]

33. it was a revelation to me

that he would pick on a woman in a situation like that, leaving her to fend for herself at the hands of a mob.

[DallasNE]

29. The Media Remained Silent For Far Too Long

And normalized this behavior. Look at how many times in 2016 Trump told his supporters to "beat the crap out of them" meaning of the demonstrators in the crowd. And they did. Remember the old guy that sucker punched a demonstrator as he was being escorted out by security. It has always been there and by nature it will only get worse until somebody steps up to stop it.

There will be a next time too so how will it be handled? Or will it? America's nightmare is ongoing.

[Hekate]

35. I watched him do that to her many times, tho that may have been the worst. It was horrible...

She was just a young chick, and he decides she needs to be put in fear of her life, threatened with being beaten bloody by a mob. So he threatens her again and again — absolutely nothing subtle about it at all, and very public.

Trump has always been a fcking sadist.

[empedocles]

37. I read Katy's book some years back. Her voice in the book was so

personable and easy to relate to. Now she is a young mother.

trump's vicious attacks on her, I feel personally.

[OnDoutside]

46. It reminds me of the young female journalist in the original British version of House of Cards.

In some ways...

[BComplex]

36. Katy Tur is a tiny little thing!

I'm so friggin' sick of trump! Can't we ban his name from the USA?

[greenjar_01]

38. Trump was never happier than when he was egging a crowd into violence

That was from Day 1. He literally incited his crowds to beat protesters in his rallies from Day 1. he's a deeply disturbed person. The Capitol riot was where it was heading all along.

[TigressDem]

39. I TRY not to HATE the Orange Man, but then I read something like this....

Reminds me of the gangs I grew up with in California. tRump is one of that mentality.... put up reasons for people to be at odds and then sell the protection against it.

"Be in our gang, we'll protect you" after 20 of us beat the shit out of you IF and when you survive..... we will have your back."


REALLY?


How about this? I don't join ANY of you and I'm just me and we are cool with that? You guys do whatever you want, but I'll pass.


I got jumped "in" several times and told them.... "NO, thanks. NO. If I can wreck 20 of your people bad enough that they stopped coming at me, WHAT do I need YOU for?"


BUT it's a different world now. All these white supremacists are packing heat. AND THEY ARE CRAZY. NO REAL REASON for just taking their rage out on anyone whenever. Big man says someone told a lie.... there you go, kill.


Knives, chains, fists are one thing -- crazy people with guns are at another level of criminal.

[DSandra]

44. Trump is evil and the most evil president in American history...

Any hatred against him is understandable, especially including how he essentially killed at least 200,000 Americans through a gross dereliction of duty at the very least, sheer genocide and mass senicide at the most.

[TigressDem]

51. Yeah, but when I hold on to it, I am the one who feels poisoned.

tRump doesn't care that he's evil or that the world is disgusted with him. He has his little groupies and surrounds himself with sycophants who tell him how great he is so he doesn't blow up.

I want to hold him accountable for EVERY Covid death in the US after he KNEW it was airborne and put on his clown show.

BUT I don't want to see red when I hear his name.

I want to be in charge of my own peace of mind, but with a raging tornado of an ex-pRez, it isn't easy.

[Raine]

40. HORRIBLE, it's a miracle

he didn't get her killed!

[BobTheSubgenius]

41. I don't think it's a master plan on his part.

In fact, "master" doesn't really enter the conversation about him. It's more like "feral cunning" than a thought-out strategies. Pets and small children figure it out, but not intellectually.

At some point, they hit on a winning ploy, then try it again....and it works again. After that, why would anyone abandon a strategy that works? This is what has worked for him.

[Chicagogrl1]

42. OMG

This is crazy!When will his BS end?!?

[Laura PourMeADrink]

45. Wow, just wow