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New Yorker writer Jane Mayer was called out for her reaction to two members of the National Guard being shot in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, as she suggested the tragedy’s blame lay at the feet of the Trump administration.
“This is so tragic, so unnecessary, these poor guardsmen should never have been deployed. I live in DC and watched as they had virtually nothing to do but pick up trash. It was for political show and at what a cost,” Mayer said in a post for X.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national, has been identified as the gunman accused of shooting the two National Guard members just blocks from the White House on the day before Thanksgiving, law enforcement sources told Fox News Digital.
Trump White House Communications Director Steven Cheung responded to Mayer’s post and said, “Jane, respectfully, shut the f— up for trying to politicize this tragedy. They were protecting DC and trying to make the nation’s capital safer. People like you who engage in ghoulish behavior lose all credibility. Not like you had any to begin with.”
Jane Mayer speaks onstage at the 2019 New Yorker Festival on October 12, 2019, in New York City. (Brad Barket/Getty Images for The New Yorker)
The administration’s Rapid Response account on X criticized Mayer, calling the journalist a “disgusting ghoul.”
Ben Williamson, the assistant director for public affairs at the FBI, also condemned Mayer’s response.
“If you sat down and tried to come up with a disgraceful response it would be damn near impossible to hit this level. Two guardsmen shot in broad daylight and you not only blame their deployment but then lie to trash and downplay their successful service. Delete your account,” he wrote.
2 NATIONAL GUARDSMEN CRITICALLY WOUNDED IN ‘TARGETED SHOOTING’ BLOCKS FROM WHITE HOUSE
Mayer also responded to a post that pointed to the number of homicides in D.C. this year, compared to the number from last year, and accused the person of “mansplaining.”
“I’ve covered crime in Washington since 1981- let’s skip the mansplaining. You can play with the stats but homicides were dropping before the troops got here,” Mayer wrote.
Mayer responded to another post and said, “It’s [a] tragedy. Sorry that’s so hard for some people to see. My heart goes out to the families of the victims.”
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier suggested Mayer was blaming the victims, before adding, “I’m thankful for our guardsmen and praying for them and their families as they keep protecting the peace.”
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“They were shot in an ambush attack and your conclusion is DC was otherwise so safe they had nothing to do but pick up trash?” another wrote.
The New Yorker did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
MS NOW correspondent Ken Dilanian was also called out by the White House for his reaction to the shooting.
“Of course, you know, there’s so much controversy happening in the United States right now with ICE, who are also wearing uniforms and wearing masks,” Dilanian told MS NOW’s Katy Tur on Wednesday. “And so there’s — you don’t know — people walking around with uniforms in an American city. There are some Americans that might object to that. And so apparently this shooting has happened.”
“@KDilanianMSNOW, two heroes were just shot protecting our nation’s capital — and this is your takeaway?” the White House’s rapid response team wrote on X. “Democrats have relentlessly demonized these Patriots, calling them ‘illegal’ and even suggesting THEY might start shooting Americans. Get help. You are beyond sick.”
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