The Republican candidate for Montana’s congressional seat slammed a Guardian reporter to the floor on the eve of the state’s special election, breaking his glasses and shouting, “Get the hell out of here.”This should be disqualifying, but ask yourself: If Donald Trump did something like this during his campaign, would it have hurt him? If anything, I think it would it would have impressed the sorts of voters who were Trump supporters or even just open to Trump. The message of the GOP is that forces hostile to the party -- who, by definition, include all non-conservative journalists -- are figures of pure evil who deserve any harm that comes to them. Trump regularly urged the crowds at his rallies to express hatred for the press. And Gianforte is a Trump supporter, running in a district (the entire state of Montana) where Trump won by a sizable margin.
Ben Jacobs, a Guardian political reporter, was asking Greg Gianforte, a tech millionaire running for the seat vacated by Ryan Zinke, about the Republican healthcare plan when the candidate allegedly “body-slammed” the reporter.
“He took me to the ground,” Jacobs said by phone from the back of an ambulance. “I think he wailed on me once or twice ... He got on me and I think he hit me ... This is the strangest thing that has ever happened to me in reporting on politics.”
Fox News reporter Alicia Alcuna, field producer Faith Mangan and photographer Keith Railey witnessed the incident, according to an account published by foxnews.com. After Jacobs asked Gianforte his question, Alcuna wrote, “Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him.
“Faith, Keith and I watched in disbelief as Gianforte then began punching the man, as he moved on top the reporter and began yelling something to the effect of ‘I’m sick and tired of this!’ ...
I worry that this will increase Gianforte's vote total. In red America in 2017, I seriously don't believe it will hurt him, regrettably.
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UPDATE: We've seen a similar situation in recent years, and Republican voters were totally cool with it. It happened in January 2014, Michael Grimm, a congressman from Staten Island, New York City's most Republican borough, was questioned by a local TV reporter. This happened:
Embattled New York Republican Rep. Michael Grimm threatened to "break" a NY1 reporter and throw him off a balcony after President Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday night....Ten months later, Grimm -- already plagued by multiple scandals -- won reelection by double digits. He resigned from Congress a month later, but only after pleading guilty to felony tax evasion charges. The following May, a Republican won the special election to replace Grimm, and he continues to hold the seat.
"Let me be clear to you, you ever do that to me again I'll throw you off this f-----g balcony,” Grimm said...
“No, no, you're not man enough, you're not man enough. I'll break you in half. Like a boy” ...
So, no, thuggish behavior toward reporters doesn't seem to hurt Republicans at the ballot box.
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