Liberal media need to wait for facts before blaming Atlanta shootings on Trump and racism, critics say

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Leo Terrell says 'playing race card' with Atlanta shooting is the Democrats' 'playbook'

Fox News contributor Leo Terrell and Fox News correspondent-at-large Geraldo Rivera react to liberals being accused of politicizing the Atlanta shooting.

Some members of the mainstream media have been quick to blame former President Donald Trump, Republicans and anti-Asian racism for the string of Tuesday night shootings at Atlanta-area massage parlors despite a lack of evidence to support the claim.

While authorities continue to investigate, media watchdogs feel pundits and journalists should wait for the facts before casting blame.

"The news industry should be very careful to measure its coverage of the tragic Atlanta shootings and not impose simple explanations for what could well be a highly complex situation. The investigation needs to run its course and no good can come from media pundits outkicking their coverage, so to speak, with speculation or premature conclusions in any direction," DePauw University professor and media critic Jeffrey McCall told Fox News.

LIBERALS BLAME TRUMP, REPUBLICANS AND RACISM FOR ATLANTA SHOOTINGS, BEFORE POLICE DETERMINE MOTIVE

Officials said Robert Long has claimed he committed the shootings because he has a "sex addiction" and wanted to eliminate his temptation.

Officials said Robert Long has claimed he committed the shootings because he has a "sex addiction" and wanted to eliminate his temptation. However, authorities are also considering if the crimes may have been racially motivated – despite the suspect's denials – because six of the victims were Asian women. The other two victims were White.

"The media can help the public in understanding this tragedy by first waiting for the results of the official police investigation and then putting the facts in the proper context," McCall said.  

However, instead of waiting for evidence, many members of the mainstream media have already decided that racism and Trump’s rhetoric is to blame for the senseless killings.

The Washington Post published a headline, "Rampage amplifies fears among Asian Americans," while the New York Times went with, "Asian-Americans are being attacked. Why are hate crime charges so rare?"

‘THE VIEW’ CO-HOST JOY BEHAR BLAMES TRUMP’S RHETORIC FOR ATLANTA SHOOTINGS, DISMISSES SEX ADDICTION AS MOTIVE

MSNBC's "Morning Joe" panelist Mike Barnicle said Thursday that Trump had caused a surge in nationwide anger that contributed to the violence.

"We're still living it ... Now, Donald Trump didn’t pull the trigger in Atlanta, but Donald Trump certainly was responsible for the anger and the fear and the suspicion that exists in great degree in this country, much more so than ever in the past," Barnicle said. "He's not to blame for a history of racial strife in this country, but he certainly is to blame for enhancing it."

"The View" co-host Joy Behar echoed Barnicle’s thoughts on Trump and then  dismissed sex addiction as a possible motive.

"As far as the sex addiction defense, many celebrities have admitted to a sex addiction and as far as I can see, sex addiction doesn’t lead to violence, it leads to sex," Behar said. "So let’s not pretend."

CNN writer Stephen Collinson, in an op-ed headlined "White supremacy and hate are haunting Asian Americans," wrote it was "immaterial" whether the accused killer admitted to a racist motivation. One section of the analysis asked, "How much is Trump to blame?"

ATLANTA SHOOTING SUSPECT TELLS POLICE ATTACKS NOT RACIALLY MOTIVATED, WAS PURPORTEDLY DRIVEN BY SEX ADDICTION

"Many Asian Americans feel exposed by a torrent of dangerous and racially motivated rhetoric by national figures on a cultural crusade. Most prominently that includes ex-President Donald Trump, who presided over four years of rising racial tensions and often used division as a tool of personal power," he wrote. 

CNN's Lisa Ling compared the atmosphere for Asians to how Muslims felt in the days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Cornell Law School professor and media critic William A. Jacobson told Fox News that the crime was "horrific regardless of motive" and the media should wait for facts before casting blame.

"Based on what currently has been stated by the police, this does not appear to be a racially or ethnically motivated crime," Jacobson said.

"Given the police findings so far, it is irresponsible for Democrats and the media to try to politicize this crime, and without any evidence suggest that it was motivated by statements by Trump or others critical of the Chinese government," Jacobson continued. "Too many times in the past we have seen such exploitation rather than focusing on the crime itself, which was horrific regardless of motive."

Media Research Center Vice President Dan Gainor said the news media would play the race card at any opportunity.

"It’s a preconceived narrative but only on the crimes the press wants to highlight," he told Fox News. "This type of journalism leads to the hateful garbage we get from outlets like The Root that wrote, ‘Whiteness Is a Pandemic.' Say that about any other race and everyone knows you are a bigot."

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During a debate on "America's Newsroom" Thursday with Geraldo Rivera, Fox News contributor Leo Terrell also encouraged people to wait for the facts before jumping to conclusions. 

"Democratic politicians have not a single fact to justify a hate crime argument, they were not in that detective room, there was not a single shred of evidence coming from this assailant, this nut, who talked about hating someone based on race," Terrell said. "He’s a sex addict but that doesn’t stop the Democrats. That doesn’t stop all these pundits, and the Democrats are playing this race card that does not exist, trying to throw President Trump under the bus."

Fox News’ Stephen Sorace and David Rutz contributed to this report.