Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 11:17 am
Rick Santorum fed his Christian base what they love the most when he responded to a New York Times reporter’s question by calling it “bullsh–” and saying the reporters don’t care about the truth at all. He then took his case for media persecution straight to his donors, claiming he had been “aggressively attacked.”
Sunday (God’s day), while campaigning in Wisconsin, Santorum blew up at New York Times reporter Jeff Zeleny after the reporter asked Santorum to clarify a comment he made calling Mitt Romney the “worst Republican in the country.”
Today, Santorum claims cursing a NYT reporter is just proof that he’s a Republican. On Fox & Friends this morning Santorum said, “If you haven’t cursed out a New York Times reporter during the course of a campaign, you’re not really a real Republican.” In an email to supporters, Santorum claimed he was “aggressively attacked” by the New York Times reporter.
Boston.com reported that Santorum wrote, “Predictably, I was aggressively attacked by a New York Times reporter all too ready to defend the two of them, and all too ready to distort my words. Let me assure you, I didn’t back down, and I didn’t let him bully me.”
Here is Santorum’s idea of being “aggressively attacked”: Jeff Zeleny asked, “You said Mitt Romney was the worst Republican in the country. Is that true?”
“Is that true?” is an aggressive attack that causes Rick Santorum to lose his religion? Wow. That was quick.
CBS got the video this morning of that confrontation and interviewed the NYT reporter. Watch here:
Santorum took the best defense is offense approach by lambasting the reporter, “What speech did you listen to? Stop lying! I said he was the worst Republican to run on the issue of Obamacare. And that’s what I was talking about!”
Pointing his finger in the reporter’s face with his eyebrows down and eyes a bit crazy, he continued, “Would you guys quit distorting what I’m saying! Quit distorting my words. If I see it, it’s bulls—! Come on, man! What are you doing?”
As the tape proves, the reporter was doing what reporters do. He was asking Santorum to explain a comment he made. Santorum denied making it and claimed it was taken out of context, saying that he was referencing Romney being the worst person to fight Obama on the Affordable Healthcare Act (“Obamacare”).
Santorum closed his show for the base by indicting the media, “I’m upset when the media distorts what I say. Yeah, I do get upset. What are you guys in the business of doing, reporting the truth? Or are you here to try to spin and make news? Stop it! You don’t care about the truth, do you? Asking that question shows me you don’t care at all about the truth.”
The real problem here isn’t that Santorum got profane, which is hypocritical and par for the course for Republican Christians these days.
After all, swearing isn’t swearing when it comes from a conservative Christian. Whether it’s Sarah Palin calling things “asinine” or saying “wtf” or Rick Santorum saying “bullshit”, it’s awesome when Republicans do it. But if Joe Biden whispers “it’s a big fu*king deal” the world has ended in a vulgarity. Cursing in public and on TV is the new Christian for Republicans.
The real problem is that Santorum thinks being asked to clarify a comment is an “aggressive attack.” How would he deal with leaders of other countries? Is no one allowed to ask King Santorum if something is true? Off with their heads!
At least his Christian base is happy today. There’s nothing the Republican base loves more than an angry Republican candidate cursing the liberal media. Apparently Jesus was only good until someone asked him a question, and then all bets were off.
In this new Republican Christianity, you get a free pass for character and temperament if you’re mad. Huh. And here I thought it was precisely those moments when we are most tested that our true character reveals itself.
Sarah has been credentialed to cover President Barack Obama, then VP Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and exclusively interviewed Speaker Nancy Pelosi multiple times and exclusively covered her first home appearance after the first impeachment of then President Donald Trump.
Sarah is two-time Telly award winning video producer and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Connect with Sarah on Post, Mastodon @PoliticusSarah@Journa.Host, & Twitter.
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