Reuters editor apologizes for blaming Trump for newsroom shooting

A Reuters editor has apologized for saying about Donald Trump, after the deadly Capital Gazette shootings on Thursday, that “blood is on your hands” for Trump’s frequent insults about journalists.

Shortly after the shootings in which five people were killed, Reuters Breaking views editor Rob Cox tweeted “this is what happens when @realDonaldTrump calls journalists the enemy of the people. Blood is on your hands, Mr. President. Save your thoughts and prayers for your empty soul,” in response to Trump’s latest tweet offering “thoughts and prayers” to victims of a mass shooting.

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Cox’s tweet drew heavy backlash and he deleted it, tweeting soon after that it was “fair enough” to call him out for his comments, and that “vilifying any category of people – journalists, migrants, conservatives, liberals etc – can incite violence.”

Cox followed that with a more formal apology Thursday night, saying that he “responded emotionally and inappropriately,” to news of the shootings. “Though my comments were entirely personal, they were not in keeping with the Reuters Trust Principles and my own standards for letting facts, not snap judgments, guide my understanding.”

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Cox continued, saying that he had been in a state of “emotional distress” due both to his “experience as a member of the community of Newtown, Connecticut in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook tragedy,” and “the possibility that my colleagues in the press were being targeted.”

“I am sorry for my comments, which I quickly deleted and have disavowed, and especially remorseful if they did anything to distract from the thoughts and love we must send to the community of Annapolis,” Cox concluded.

Also Read:Editor Rob Hiaasen, 59, Among 5 Dead in Capital Gazette Shooting

Reuters editor-in-chief Steve Adler followed up with a statement on behalf of the news organization Thursday night. “Earlier this evening, Reuters Breakingviews Editor Rob Cox tweeted about the shooting in Annapolis, Maryland. He has since deleted the tweet and apologized,” said Adler. “Mr. Cox’s actions were inconsistent with the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles requiring journalists to maintain freedom from bias. We do not condone his behavior and will take appropriate action.”

See Cox’s full apology below:

Read original story Reuters Editor Apologizes for Blaming Trump for Newsroom Shooting At TheWrap