On Wednesday afternoon in the 2:00 p.m. Eastern hour, a suspect opened fire outside the Washington D.C. subway system’s Farragut West station on members of the National Guard who were deployed as part of President Trump’s focus on crushing crime in major U.S. cities. We learned less than an hour after news first broke that both National Guardsmen – a male and female from West Virginia – were dead.
The legacy media were quick to respond as, in many cases, their D.C. bureaus were blocks away from the scene. While there were thoughtful and sober coverage (such as here and here from ABC), there were sadly a number of predictably idiotic hot takes.
MS NOW host Katy Tur was most emblematic of the compassion needed as she nearly broke down crying over the shooting having taken a deadly turn:
WATCH: MS NOW host Katy Tur nearly breaks down in announcing to viewers both National Guard troops shot outside a D.C. metro station had died
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) November 26, 2025
After reading the announcement, Tur said she's "a bit speechless because it is just so awful and the timing is making it even worse,… pic.twitter.com/zIoVVXHbCV
That said, below are some of the worst compiled from the first hour of coverage.
First up, we have MS NOW making absolute fools of themselves. Justice reporter and Deep State tool Ken Dilanian blamed Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) for what we would learn was the murder of two U.S. soldiers:
MS NOW's Ken Dilanian just after 3pm Eastern on the shooting of two National Guard troops in Washington D.C...
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) November 26, 2025
"[O]f course, you know, there's so much controversy happening in the United States right now with ice, who are also wearing uniforms and wearing masks. And so there's,… pic.twitter.com/p6IPk6XTWl
Before the announcement of the soldiers having passed, Tur and her assembled analysts repeatedly scoffed at the President’s deployment of the Guard and wondered if it served any real purpose since, as we’ve learned, led to two losing their lives:
MS NOW’s Katy Tur at 304pm Eastern: “Has there been tension with the National Guard? I mean, NPR spoke with a number of National Guard members from Ohio on the condition of anonymity, and they talked to them just the other day, November 10, and they talked about the deployment to… pic.twitter.com/PTraBRGAaJ
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) November 26, 2025
Without naming him directly, MS NOW lashes out at President Trump for deploying the National Guard to Washington D.C., putting their lives in danger….
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) November 26, 2025
Law enforcement analyst Rob D’Amico: “Well, I think you're going to start seeing some question – more questions again, the… pic.twitter.com/iD0ne9dCXt
Going over to CNN, senior law enforcement analyst and liberal toadie Andrew McCabe wondered if the National Guard on scene really knew what they were doing in terms of responding to a hostile actor:
CNN's Andrew McCabe on two National Guard troops being shot outside a Washington D.C. metro stop:
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) November 26, 2025
"So, add to this very confusing picture, the National Guard who've been around in D.C. for a little while. So they're not quite as novel as they were in the first week or two. But… pic.twitter.com/2dZlKv9niN
CNN News Central fill-in co-host Omar Jimenez went down this same rabbit hole:
CNN's Omar Jimenez speculates on whether the National Guard troops who were shot in Washington D.C. were had any real experience or knowledge to respond to a hostile situation like police officers do pic.twitter.com/TrjMJFAqTt
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) November 26, 2025
ABC chief investigative correspondent Aaron Katersky surmised on ABC News Live if the suspect’s motivation stemmed from anger over the President’s agenda, including his “immigration policies”:
WHAT?! ABC's Aaron Katersky speculating on a motive in the shooting of two National Guard troops in Washington D.C.....
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) November 26, 2025
"Focus will turn to whether these guardsmen were specifically targeted. If that's the case, it would fit with what we've been hearing from law enforcement… pic.twitter.com/cyB4SFlPMs
Katersky had help in peddling this tone-deaf narrative as, on CBS’s streaming channel CBS News 24/7, senior coordinating producer for crime and public safety Anna Schechter cited the “explosive rhetoric around the administration’s policy in terms of deploying the National Guard to cities” and “the immigration policy”:
CBS's Anna Schecter, speculating just after 330pm Eastern on a possible motive of the National Guard shooting in Washington D.C....
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) November 26, 2025
"What led -- what was going on in that perpetrator's mind to carry out this attack? There's been a lot of tension, a lot of headlines, a lot of… pic.twitter.com/N9vWbNOkEA