Buck Sexton slams media's selective reportage in Paul Pelosi attack case
Former CIA officer Buck Sexton calls out slanted coverage of suspect David DePape, on 'Jesse Watters Primetime'
The liberal media's portrayal Paul Pelosi attack suspect David DePape as MAGA supporter may have succeeded nearly one month after incident, some critics say.
Buck Sexton, co-host of "The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show" and former CIA officer, added his voice to the critics slamming the mainstream media's coverage and characterizations of DePape Monday on "Jesse Watters Primetime." DePape, an illegal immigrant from Canada, has been charged in connection with last month's hammer attack on the husband of the outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
On "Jesse Watters Primetime," Sexton responded to several recent clips of mainstream media trying to tie DePape to MAGA or right-wing politics, despite his reputation as somewhat aloof with ties to nudism and Berkeley "counterculture."
"If this were a different circumstance and Democrats weren't obviously trying to weaponize this clear psycho's act for political reasons, they'd be talking about how he's probably a schizophrenic; probably has major, major mental health issues," he said. "But that would get in the way of the narrative. And it also, by the way, is, I think, in keeping with their attitude here, which is that they only want to have certain facts out there in the discourse."
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One CNN report said DePape was a proliferator of videos featuring "My Pillow Guy" Mike Lindell, a fervent defender of former President Trump. Other reports highlighted allegations DePape engaged in COVID counternarratives and 2020 election denialism.
Sexton said the media narrative has already paid its expected dividends, as many people now see DePape as a right-winger.
Sexton said DePape was less of a right-winger and more simply a frequent patron of "the Crazytown Buffet," pointing to a rare New York Times report citing recollections from DePape's girlfriend that they attended anti-war and nudist protests, among other developments.
DePape was also – despite his status as a noncitizen – reportedly a registered member of the Green Party in California, host Jesse Watters said.
David DePape, right, records the nude wedding of Gypsy Taub outside City Hall on Dec. 19, 2013, in San Francisco. DePape is accused of breaking into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's California home and severely beating her husband with a hammer. DePape was known in Berkeley, California, as a pro-nudity activist who had picketed naked at protests against local ordinances requiring people to be clothed in public. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
"This guy has pulled together all these different conspiracy theories," Sexton argued. "Literally, according to The New York Times, [DePape] told people he was Jesus, lived under a tree and thought he was living in a game simulation."
Sexton, however, added the New York Times report contained only scant mentions of mental illness, which he said suggested if DePape were clearly a right-winger, the reportage even in the Times story would have been different.
"There's only one mention that I could find of mental illness or mental health, and it came from the defense attorney here," he said. Watters further noted DePape reportedly attempted to converse with squirrels while working construction jobs.
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Buck Sexton. (Fox News Digital)
Sexton pointed out the media has a habit of downplaying political violence in previous cases when it is committed by left-wingers.
"But when you have a total lunatic who might as well be speaking to pink elephants under the tree that he's living under, they are telling us this is the fault of the GOP. Hand over your guns in your freedom because of this maniac -- I don't think so," he said.
The firestorm toward the media in the Paul Pelosi story also has intensified after NBC News essentially scrubbed a report from correspondent Miguel Almaguer that other critics suggested ran counter to the main narrative the media had been trying to paint.