Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer took direct aim at two sitting Supreme Court justices — calling out Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh by name — but the Washington Post’s story focused on the GOP’s response.
“GOP Seizes On Schumer’s Remarks,” WaPo’s print headline blared, addressing the backlash Schumer had faced after speaking at a Wednesday rally outside the Supreme Court.
What the headline did not address was that Schumer had in fact received backlash from both sides of the political aisle and had even earned a rare rebuke from Chief Justice John Roberts himself.
There was some suspense over whether WaPo would go with “pounce” or “seize on” for its headline on Schumer’s menacing language toward Justices.
It went with “seize on.” pic.twitter.com/eP29VyfCF1
— Walter Olson (@walterolson) March 5, 2020
What Schumer actually said, after calling out the two Trump-appointed justices by name, was, “I want to tell you, Gorsuch. I want to tell you, Kavanaugh. You have released the whirlwind and you will pay the price! You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions.” (RELATED: Flashback: Chuck Schumer Wanted Chief Justice Roberts To Scold Trump Just 3 Weeks Ago)
WaPo was not the only outlet to turn the focus to the response rather than the initial offense.
NPR suggested that directly addressing two sitting members of the Court amounted to “apparent references to the court’s Trump appointees.”
Chief Justice John Roberts issued a strong rebuke after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer made apparent references to the court’s Trump appointees.
“You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions,” the Democrat said. https://t.co/dvTTu4W7Tn
— NPR (@NPR) March 5, 2020
Politico’s Playbook, upon learning that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell planned to address Schumer’s comments from Thursday morning, claimed that doing so would “pour gasoline on a CHUCK SCHUMER/Supreme Court controversy.”
MITCH MCCONNELL is set to pour gasoline on a CHUCK SCHUMER/Supreme Court controversy by addressing it on the Senate floor during his opening remarks this morning.
The latest in Playbook: https://t.co/IG707OFBl4
— POLITICO Playbook (@playbookplus) March 5, 2020
Schumer’s spokesman issued a statement Wednesday claiming that his remarks were intended to warn Republicans of the political consequences of confirming Trump’s picks.