Shocking Fox News video: Guest chuckles over killing Osama, Obama

Does this Fox News contributor, Liz Trotta, really suggest what it sounds like she suggests -- the assassination of both Osama bin Laden and Barack Obama? And then laughs!

Where is the outrage?  And the apology?

(UPDATE: Finally, it came and abject it was. (See below, a good ways into the tape.)

(UPDATE TO THE UPDATE: Over at WakeUp America, Susan makes a powerful point. Jeffrey Feldman of HuffingtonPost has a strong denunciation of the Trotta gaffe and a call for greater broadcast scrutiny and care about such language because the public does not want it. Though as of late Monday he had not posted Trotta's apology.

(Yet, on the same HuffPost site there's an apparently satirical piece by Guy Saperstein quoting a hopefully fictitious Clinton campaign strategy memo saying, "Assassination is still on the table, but it is still only one of many possibilities." This is funny stuff on one page but legitimate outrage on another?

(And does anyone remember outrage a while back when Sen. Ted Kennedy called the Illinois senator Osama bin Laden?)

--Andrew Malcolm

Comments

[Kaye Martin]

This is simply not o.k. It is never o.k. to joke about killing anyone. Ms. Trotter would be unnerved if someone had made such a comment about herslf, or a loved one.

These reporters make good salaries; they attend some of the best schools, yet they lack basic common sense and human decency.

The American people need to demand a restoration of civility in political discourse.

[BJG]

She should be arrested and prosecuted.

The law, US Code, Title 18, Part 1, Section 879:

Sec. 879. Threats against former Presidents and certain other
persons

a) Whoever knowingly and willfully threatens to kill, kidnap, or inflict bodily harm upon -

1) a former President or a member of the immediate family of a former President;

2) a member of the immediate family of the President, the President-elect, the Vice President, or the Vice President-elect;

3) a major candidate for the office of President or Vice President, or a member of the immediate family of such candidate;

or

(4) a person protected by the Secret Service under section 3056(a)(6);

shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.

[Wes Mahan]

So, for all you righties and Clinton fans, who say, "big deal, what's the fuss about" , let's see how long Ms. Trotta would last if she had said "George Bush" instead of Obama!!

The secret service would have descended on her faster than you could say, "US Code, Title 18, Part 1, Section 879" which puts you in prison for 5 years if you threaten a President, OR A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE. But of course the candidate is NOT a Republican, so they won't do anything.

[N.E. BodybutHillary]

I would expect this from the racist voters, and those remaing Clinton supporters who attempt to put a positive spin on her repeated references to potential assasination being justifacation to stay in the race.

Decent human beings have found all these sick and peverted outbursts to be utterly indefensable. Others will continue to support Hillary's hateful uterrances no matter what is said.

Of course that is not what she meant. wink wink
She is pathetic

[thewritechick]

Dear well-meaning-one-of-my-best-friends-is-black white people,

These are the white people most minorities know.

Welcome to the jungle.

Signed,
Have Heard Worse at a Monday Morning Staff Meeting and am Too Beat Down To Muster Outrage

[NYLefty]

Fox doesn't have a "license" and the FCC can't
"fine" it. Broadcast stations have licenses, but
the Fox News Channel isn't a broadcast station.

The FCC has authority over cable systems
(such as Time-Warner Cable and CableVision),
but no authority over content providers such as Fox.

Unfortunately, in this case.

[tmra]

What the hell is wrong with these people??? (Hillary, Huchabee and now this lady Liz) Why would you ever "joke" directly or indirectly about assassinating someone?? These are not some redneck down-south people, these are political figures. I'm appalled. What has Obama ever done to them personally? He has won this thing fair and square. He didn't cheat. He didn't lie. Its a sad state of this society when this type of rhetoric is accepted and blown off as merely a gaffe or misspeak. It sickens me.

[tmra]

To Lisa

Nobody cares who vote for. I am so sick of these bitter Hillary supporters who think that by not voting for Obama it really means anything. Get this through your thick skull. Nobody CARES!!!! You are filled with as much hate as the ones who made the comment. I'll just be happy when this whole thing is over, with Obama in office, then you will eat your words.

[Melanie]

OK, I expect now, anytime, REAL soon, we'll be hearing the outraged denunciations from the left about the movie "Death Of A President", an entire movie dedicated to the premise of the assassination of a living, sitting President. Anytime, guys. We know we can count on you to be fair and eschew hypocrisy. Right?

[Ericmiami]

Finally! This story has been a long time coming to MSM.

[fedup]

I didn't watch the video simply because I am comepletly fed up with all the BS. The rest of the media and Obama and his team keep crying that everyone is out to get him. Grow up. Hillary did in no way say for someone to go and assassinate Obama, If we have to go and censor every word that someone might take wrong we won't be able to say anything. If he can't take comments people are making now, he will never be able to handle the criticms that come with the presidency. I see no point to all the outrage. Let it go already

[08vote]

IF HILLARY, MCCAIN, and HUCKBERRY HOUND have any MORAL decency, they would come out from their campaign 'denouncing' and 'renouncing' the comments of Liz Trotta. There are lot of unstable people in the world and it doesn't take much to push a person over the 'edge' in trying to knock off a Presidential candidate, a U.S. President in office (remember attempts on Reagan, Gerald Ford, etc.). Believe it or not, sarcasm can be above the mental understanding of EVEN some "normal" minded people.

[RP]

Why is this lady on television? This is sad and simply unbelievable!

[George]

Hilary you are wrong about the media being sexist towards you, are wrong about Barack using the gender issue. The truth is there are allot of honest, trustworthy,intelligent,strong and tuff women in politics’ today that myself or any other man would support as a possible president, just not you. You have lied about so many thing's like the Whitewater scandal, Monica, Bosnia,Ireland,the woman and her baby that died, the assassination thing that you have said several time's in the past.(most of us believe you are to smart to make a mistake like that and you did it intently), The truth is that you have lied so much that you don't know what the truth looks like. If you really love this country, if you really care about the Democratic party, if you really care about the veteran's, if you really care about the blue collar worker's and the poor people. You will do the right thing and step down now, apologize to Barack and Michelle for the statement you made Saturday and throw your full support to Barack. If you don't do this, well I guess it will just add more lies to your long list.
Sincerely
A former supporter of you

[Karen]

FoxNews is breathtakingly biased, and even a little nuts. I used to watch and figured that what I saw was conventional wisdom. Then I started meandering over to the other networks (ABC, MSNBC, CNN, etc.) and discovered FoxNews represents the fringe element (a la Rush Limbaugh) throughout their entire programming. I mean every single hour and every single show. I could understand a couple of hosts or segments, but their entire programming is remarkably, transparently nothing but "Whatever has happened in the world today that supports Rush (Fuss) Limbaugh, we'll report as good. Anything that suggests otherwise, we won't report, or we'll report as bad". That's it. That's their programming. That Fuss Limbaugh guy is one angry nutjob. If you like stress, being hostile, subjecting yourself to manipulation by an irrational nutjob, believe in "divided we stand" (or rather a divided America means Rush gets paid more), then listen to him and watch FoxNews.

[Patrice]

I have a 13 year old daughter who has followed the presidential race along with me for about a year or so. I find myself having to qualify the progress that we have made as a nation when this type of behavior comes up in a forum which should exhibit some level of standard above the Jim Crow era of our nation...How have we grown? We are one of the richest countries in the world, but Ms. Trotta's comments and the unbelievable lack of response from every single authority who should take action out there is really showing that we are not even close to being the greatest.

This is not about winning a championship - it's not a football or hockey game...this is a man's life and our own lives as American people which hang in the balance. Let's all take a deep breath and speak out against the reprehensible comments which are unacceptable no matter what ethnicity the targeted individual happens to be. Wake up people - wake up!

[David]

What none of you libs want to admit is that, if not for his being black, Obama would have been laughed off the ticket by the DNC. He is a JUNIOR senator with absolutely NO executive experience that would make him qualified for the presidency of the most powerful nation on earth. If he were white, he WOULD NOT be where he is today - PERIOD!!! He is a bumbling idiot that can't even formulate & verbalize his thoughts without someone else writing them down for him to read. Every time you see him responding to questions without the benefit of a prepared speech, he stumbles all over himself. I uhhh, umm. I errr....

PUHLEEEEZE!!!

[Karen]

I wrote an email to the Chairman of the FCC and also wrote a general complaint about Liz Trotta. The only acceptable apology is for her to slit her wrists on national TV.

[Susan]

Thanks for the link and I notice many still slamming Trotta, but at the same time ignoring Huffpo's little satire.

Hypocrisy anyone?

[RonTn]

Fox should be tuned in for one reason only. That would be to list all the advertisers and then stop buying their products and contacting the companies involved and informing them that you will not purchase any of their products until they stop advertising on Fox.

This is the only thing the right wing lunatics at Fox understand. The Liz Trotta type hate coming out of Fox can only lead to violence. She regrets that she was caught. Nothing more.

[Annie]

The point is not whether or not you would vote for Barack Obama.

I have lived through the deaths of John Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King. I watched the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan. It is not about who I might vote for. Its about the respect due to someone on the national stage and the decency that we do not treat their safety lightly.

The world is full of wingnuts. Because of white identity groups throughout the United States who have threatened Obama from the beginning the Secret Service has had to work overtime to keep him safe. It was totally tasteless what Hillary said but maybe she didn't mean it the way it sounded. This woman at Fox news, however, is completely irresponsible. The secret service investigated a high school student last year because he made an anti-war poster that looked threatening to George W. Bush. How does she get away with this on a public stage?

I am no fan of George W. Bush but I do not want people making jokes about killing the president. The kind of poison politics that extremists on either side - left or right - sometimes practice demeans us all. Whether you want Obama for your president is not the point. Its disgusting.

Can we all imagine Fox News if some lefty made jokes about killing McCain? Then they would not find it so funny. I realize this nation is not big on "doing unto others" but we need to ask ourselves what the heck kind of country we want to live in that behaves this way. How disrespectful do we want to be to everyone who doesn't think just like us? I am so tired of mean nasty snarkiness that is supposed to pass for witty humor. I remember when news people actually reported news and didn't spend all their time trying to make points by demeaning someone.

[Barbyrah]

I have contacted the FCC as well, and sent emails to two corporate chieftans at Verizon - the commercial directly following that "news" piece.

I thank the L.A. Times for running the story.

FYI: The Secret Service has already been notified by a number of bloggers; my guess is, they probably don't need others to inform them. If I remember correctly, they asked one contacter if the statement was on tape...so no doubt they've seen it. And let's not assume they haven't folllowed up...we wouldn't know if they did anyway. (I'd bet they did.)

As to the question of why no outrage on the satirical piece on HuffPo, or Kennedy's slip: Totally different intentions, Andrew. In fact, opposite intentions. And intent is key. Consequently....

...while there are those who would say both Clinton and Trotta's intentions were at the least ambiguous, at the most totally unrelated to promoting such a repugnant, immoral act....the fact that there's even a question about intent related to both of these women...says it all.

[c.blake]

KNOCK - OFF...ONE POLITICALLY AND ONE LITERALLY

YOU FIGURE IT OUT...SO,

RELAX, AND GET A LIFE...

THE GOP HAS THE LAST PRESIDENT WHO WAS SHOT...REAGAN.

[Jim]

"If we were living in another country, what we, all of us together, would go down to Washington and stone Henry Hyde to death, stone him to death, stone him to death!" said Alec Baldwin. "Then we would go to their house and we'd kill the family, kill the children."

I don't recall this jerk going to prison.

[daniela]

People, last time I checked I live in the republic of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and there is this thing called free speech. It's called !st amendment. A RIGHT, not something you can legislate or TAX. If you so called americans don't want to listen to this person then turn the channel or turn the TV off.