Sinclair Forces Local Stations to Air ‘Must-Run’ Segment Defending Tear-Gassing Migrants (Video)
“Ultimately, American authorities had to use tear gas to stop the attacks,” former Trump official Boris Epshteyn says in his latest commentary
Itay Hod | November 27, 2018 @ 2:42 PM
Last Updated: November 27, 2018 @ 3:09 PM
Sinclair Broadcasting
Sinclair Broadcasting Group, which owns about 200 local news outlets across the country, required its stations to air a segment defending the Border Patrol’s use of tear gas against migrants crossing the border on Sunday.
“The migrant crisis on our southern border has greatly escalated,” Sinclair political analyst and former Trump administration official Boris Epshteyn says in the “must-run” segment. “Dozens of migrants attacked U.S. border enforcement by throwing rocks and bottles. Ultimately, American authorities had to use tear gas to stop the attacks.”
On Sunday, a migrant “caravan” march escalated at the US-Mexico border in Tijuana, as desperate asylum seekers attempted to cross the border en masse. US Border Patrol agents responded by firing tear gas that spread into the crowd that included children.
During the segment, Epshteyn slammed “some on the left, such as Democrat Congresswoman Maxine Waters” who “were immediately up in arms about our president and his team standing up for our men and women in uniform and for our national security.”
“The fact of the matter is that this is an attempted invasion of our country, period,” he went on to say. “Our border must remain intact and secure. It is not a partisan position to believe that our immigration system is broken and needs to be fixed. However, it unfortunately appears that there are many on the left who believe it is wrong to defend our country and abide by the rule of law. I would bet that many of those same people live behind walls and locked doors but do not want to afford the same benefit to our country as a whole.”
“Here’s the bottom line,” Epshteyn concluded. “The notion that a caravan of migrants can be allowed to break through our borders is ludicrous and dangerous. The United States of America should not and cannot be intimidated by those willing to use force to get into our country illegally.”
In July, Epshteyn used his commentary “must-run” segment to defend the administration’s family-separation policy, telling viewers that, “many members of the media and opponents of the president have seized on this issue to make it seem as if those who are tough on immigration are somehow monsters. Let’s be honest: While some of the concern is real, a lot of it is politically driven by the liberals in politics and the media.”
15 Stars Who Imagined Violence Against Donald Trump, From Kathy Griffin to Pearl Jam (Photos)
Since the election, several celebrities have voiced their displeasure -- even anger -- with the Trump administration. Some have gone so far as to suggest violent measures. From Robert De Niro to Snoop Dogg, here are some left-leaning noteworthy people who have fanned themes of violence toward Trump and the GOP.
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Mickey Rourke
In a TMZ video from 2015, this boxer-turned-actor directed his rage toward Trump, calling him a "big-mouthed bitch bully," saying he would "love 30 seconds in a room with the little bitch." Rourke has also expressed a desire to "give [Trump] a Louisville slugger."
In late February 2016, the host of Comedy Central's now-canceled "The Nightly Show" joked about then-candidate Donald Trump: “I don’t want to give him any more oxygen. That’s not a euphemism, by the way. I mean it literally. Somebody get me the pillow they used to kill [Supreme Court Justice Antonin] Scalia and I’ll do it — I’ll do it!"
George Lopez
During the Republican primaries in March 2016, the Mexican American comedian tweeted a cartoon image of former Mexican president Vincente Fox holding the decapitated head of Donald Trump aloft, with the caption "Make America Great Again."
Marilyn Manson
Shock-rocker Marilyn Manson had to take his turn in the Trump-bashing festivities. In a teaser video for his song, "Say10," released just after the 2016 election, a Trump-like figure wearing a suit and a red tie lies decapitated on a concrete floor, in a pool of his own blood.
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Rosie O'Donnell
In July 2017, O'Donnell tweeted out a link to a game called "Push Trump Off A Cliff Again." This made many conservatives want to push her off a cliff, not POTUS.
Madonna told a crowd of thousands at the Women's March on Washington in January 2017 that she had “thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House." The singer's profanity-riddled jab at the Republican administration provoked the anger of many conservatives.
The actor is not afraid to express his disdain for the commander in chief. De Niro confirmed to ABC's "The View" in February 2017 that he would like to punch Trump in the face. He clarified earlier comments, saying "It wasn’t like I was gonna go find him and [really] punch him in the face, but he’s gotta hear it."
Snoop Dogg's music video for "Lavender," released in March 2017, (literally) paints POTUS as a clown and orchestrates his death. At the video's end, the "Gin and Juice" rapper points a gun at the harlequin Trump figure and shoots. But instead of a bullet, a red flag that reads "Bang!" fires out of the gun.
The comedian landed in hot water in May 2017 after photos surfaced of her holding a fake bloody, decapitated Trump head. Griffin was promptly dropped from her annual New Year's Eve gig by CNN. Toilet stool company Squatty Potty also pulled its ads featuring Griffin. Trump himself called the photos "sick" and tweeted that his youngest son, Barron, was "having a hard time" with the images. Griffin later apologized.
The nonprofit theater staged a modern adaptation of Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" in May-June 2017 that made conservative viewers want to revolt. In the production, a Trumplike figure playing the title role is stabbed to death by a band of angry Senators. The Public Theater subsequently lost sponsorships from Delta Airlines and Bank of America.
The musician's new video, released in June 2017, is simultaneously nostalgic and dystopian. In 1980s cartoon fashion, a giant Transformer-like Trump morphs into a swastika/dollar sign and wreaks havoc on a city before meeting a fiery, explosive demise.
During an appearance at the U.K.'s 2017 Glastonbury music and arts festival, the actor tore into the president -- "I think Trump needs help" -- and then made an ill-considered joke: “When was the last time an actor assassinated a president?” Depp claimed his joke was misconstrued and eventually issued an apology.
Asked what he'd serve at a peace summit between President Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, the celebrity chef told a TMZ video crew in 2017: "Hemlock."
CNN
Big Sean
In February 2017 rapper Big Sean rapped a verse about killing the President on his "I Decided" album. The lyrics are, “And I might just kill ISIS with the same icepick/That I murder Donald Trump in the same night with."
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Pearl Jam
At a show in Montana in August 2018 that served as a fundraiser for Sen. Jon Tester, the Seattle-based rockers released a cartoon poster commemorating the show that featured a bald eagle picking at the rotting corpse of President Trump on the White House lawn.
Some celebrities have been more than outspoken in their criticism of the Republican president
Since the election, several celebrities have voiced their displeasure -- even anger -- with the Trump administration. Some have gone so far as to suggest violent measures. From Robert De Niro to Snoop Dogg, here are some left-leaning noteworthy people who have fanned themes of violence toward Trump and the GOP.