Poll: Most feel the media is not to blame for GOP baseball practice shooting

Media criticism reached a new fever pitch after last week's shooting at a Congressional baseball practice that wounded Rep. Steve Scalise and multiple others.

Members of both parties were quick to lob criticism at various parties after it became apparent that lone gunman James Hodgkinson, a fervent supporter of Sen. Bernie Sanders, had specifically been targeting Republicans. Many suggested that the media contributed to the climate that made such an attack possible.

A new poll conducted by AOL News found a stark divide on whether or not the media is to blame for the shooting.

Of those polled, most people said they don't think the media is to blame -- 50 percent. Another 33 percent said they do think the media is to blame for the shooting and 17 percent said they think the media is at least somewhat to blame.

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Just one day after the shooting that injured five people, GOP Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) took to the House floor, arguing that the "liberal media" was to blame for the level of animosity towards President Donald Trump.

"We must speak truth to the powerful liberal media," Smith said, reports The Hill. "The media's constant barrage of personal attacks can incite someone to take irrational actions."

Former GOP Rep. Joe Walsh said on Twitter. "Too much hate on the left. Way too much. It's dangerous."

Rep. Mark Sanford (R-SC), on the other hand, suggested on Thursday that the president was at least "partially" to blame for the hostile rhetoric in America that led to Wednesday's shooting.

"I would argue that the president has unleashed, partially, again not in anyway totally, but partially to blame for the demons that have been unleashed," Sanford said on MSNBC. "The fact that you've got the top guy saying, 'I wish I can hit you in the face, if not why don't you and I'll pay your legal fees.' That's bizarre. We ought to call it as such."

RELATED: Congressional baseball shooting suspect James Hodgkinson

While some remained divided after the tragedy, President Trump and House leaders were quick to join together with messages of bipartisan unity in the hours following the shooting.

"We are strongest when we are unified and when we work together for the common good," Trump said during a press conference.

"We don't shed our humanity when we enter this chamber," House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) said during a moving speech on the House floor. "For all the noise and fury, we are one family."

"On days like today, there are no Democrats or Republicans, only Americans united in our hopes and prayers for the wounded," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi added, following Ryan's statement.

RELATED: Congressional Baseball Game held after shooting

Hodgkinson, 66, died at the scene after being shot by police. Sen. Scalise remains in serious condition.

** Polls conducted by AOL.com do not use scientific sampling. Surveys sample thousands of users and consistently reflect results to polls administered by other outlets.