The media is "getting played" by President Donald Trump and his attack tweets on them, rather than covering "real issues," Rep. Scott Taylor commented during a CNN interview Monday.
"If I could give objective advice to you, I think you guys are getting played, man," the Virginia Republican told CNN "New Day" co-anchor Alisyn Camerota. "I think every time he does this you guys overreact — and I say you guys, I mean the media in general. You guys play right into his hands."
Taylor pointed out that he's been critical of Trump's tweets before. However, he said he does not believe that the president's post of a doctored video showing him beating up owner Vince McMahon during a Wrestlemania event in 2007, poses a threat of violence toward the media. In the video, McMahon's image had been edited, with a CNN logo over his face.
"Ironically CNN reported on him learning politics from the World Wrestling Federation in 2015, and now you're, 'like, my gosh, he's inciting violence,'" said Taylor, identifying the company by its former name. "I don't think any American, most Americans, excuse me, certainly some, most Americans out there believe he's inciting violence from a WWF clip."
Trump's tweet brought criticism from the media and from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, with some warning he was inciting violence against reports and others saying the tweet did not reflect the dignity of a president of the United States.
"You guys are playing right into his hands," Taylor said. "You overreact, and then he's able to use that politically. You've got to start reporting on news. This is not really news."
Further, he scolded that there is a "lot of news out there to cover," including a focus on veterans, healthcare, the South China Sea, and more.
"You're falling into a trap by covering tweets all the time," he said.
Taylor said the media's focus has been on attacking the president, but other matters should be covered.
But Trump's decision to make such tweets are his, continued Taylor, and he'll suffer the consequences if there are any.
"I don't think it makes sense to do that," he conceded. "But I don't think that should make you do nothing but cover his tweet all day long. You got a lot of other things to cover."
He also argued that he was coming onto the show to talk about the South China Sea or voter fraud, "but here we are, talking about the tweets, the whole segment. You're playing right into the political hands."
They then turned the talk to the matter of voter fraud, with Taylor saying he agrees with states' rights, but does not see why there should be a problem for the government to get the voter rolls, unless they contain private information cannot be disclosed according to state laws.
Taylor said, though, that he does not believe there is widespread voter fraud, but he also does not have big problem with a federal investigation to determine if it has happened.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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