Fox Correspondent Excuses Trump For Attacking Journalists By Name At Rallies

John Roberts: Trump Is “Just Playing A Game” But “People In The Audience Take It A Little More Seriously”

From the November 6 edition of Fox News' MediaBuzz:

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HOWARD KURTZ (HOST): You've been on the trail with all these rallies where he often rails against the disgustingly dishonest press, calling journalists scum, calling some of your colleagues out by name. Is that disturbing to watch? 

JOHN ROBERTS: You know, to some degree -- clearly with Fox News, almost everybody who comes to these rallies appreciates the fact that we try to be fair and balanced in our coverage. We had a couple of people yesterday who didn't like us a whole lot. But by and large these are Fox News viewers who come to these events. But to see the way that he plays off the media and uses the media as a foil, to some degree can get disturbing when the crowd turns on the media. The other day in Miami, I saw him calling out one of my colleagues and he was winking at her as he was doing it, so he's just playing a game. But I think sometimes people in the audience take it a little more seriously. People are flipping off the media, they're yelling at them. You might hear somebody say “tell the truth,” which is fine, but when they start to get a little nasty and almost, I want to say borderline mean, it does get a little disturbing, because you wonder what might happen. I remember one event, and don't ask me what city it was in Howie, where as the press came in off the charter, they were booed by 15,000 people in the audience. And that goes to show the fact that what he has said about the media over the course of these weeks really is having an effect. 

Previously

The Guide To Donald Trump's War On The Press (So Far)

CNN Panel Berates Trump's “Irresponsible,” “Damaging” Attacks On The Media

Libel Laws, Threats, Nasty Insults: A Guide To Trump’s War Against The Media