Former Biden press secretary Jen Psaki was criticized after she demanded Republicans tone down their 'rhetoric' after Donald Trump was shot at Saturday.
Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, grazed Trump's ear, killed one spectator and injured two more before a Secret Service counter assault agent killed him.
Donald Trump's family and supporters have slammed the liberal media for downplaying Saturday evening's assassination attempt - and for running tone-deaf opinion pieces in the wake of the atrocity.
On Sunday, Psaki appeared on Meet the Press and angered Republicans further by putting the onus on them to stop the rage.
'One thing for all of us to remember is it may not feel paused tomorrow or Tuesday. And part of that is because the convention is starting and unless the programming changes, the rhetoric and how the programming is set up is not actually calming the tone or restoring civility,' she said.
'We'll see if that programming changes but if it stays the same, that is escalating it. It is not a civil approach to a convention,' the former press secretary added.
Psaki was immediately criticized by social media, similar to how Trump's family went after the press earlier this weekend.
One user on X wrote: 'Jen Psaki said the Repubs have created a 'tone,' but it is Biden & Dems who have called Trump a Nazi, a rapist, a felon, a terrorist. They have called MAGA supporters domestic terrorists & cult members. Biden promised unity but instead incited violence & division. GO TO HELL.'
'Stop lying and fueling the fire and you wouldn't be scared,' added another.
She then centered herself and her media colleagues in her call for a cease to the angry rhetoric.
'For anyone out there who has a platform who thinks the moment right now is to be political and attack the other party — you are feeding into the danger. You are making it more likely there's retaliation. I'm incredibly scared. I'm scared for journalists. I'm scared for people who have public platforms of all parties,' she said.
Right-wing commentator Stephen Miller said: 'She just all lives mattered an assassination attempt on the Republican nominee.'
'Probably should have thought about that before you started treating basic norms and journalistic objectivity like a piñata,' said another user on X.
CNN, The New York Times and NBC have been lambasted by Republicans online for their reactions to one of the worst cases of violence ever seen in American political history.
Publishers were blasted for describing gunshots as 'loud popping noises' and for describing Trump as 'falling' from the stage without reference to the assassination attempt.
The New York Times was also criticized for running an opinion piece called 'Donald Trump Is Unfit To Lead' which encouraged voters to 'reject him in November' on the morning after the shooting.
Printed against an ominous, backlit silhouette of Trump's side profile, the title page also reads: 'He failed the tests of leadership and betrayed America.'
The president's son Donald Trump Jr led the criticism on X, calling CNN 'vile' and 'a disgrace' for their coverage of the Butler, Pennsylvania campaign event incident.
He shared a 30-second clip from CNN where correspondent Jamie Gangel pointed out that Trump got up and said 'fight, fight, fight' in the seconds after he was shot.
'What we're hearing from people is that's not the message that we want to be sending right now, we want to tamp it down,' Gangel said of the reaction.
In a fiery response to the tweet, Trump Jr said: 'Someone attempted to assassinate my father tonight and this is what CNN is focused on. These people are vile.'
The broadcaster has also been widely slammed for running a headline saying 'Secret Service rushes Trump off stage after he falls at rally' without mention of a shooting.
Meanwhile, critics have slammed The New York Times for their Sunday morning paper headline, reading: 'Trump Hurt, But Safe, After A Shooting', presenting the atrocity in the mildest possible way.
Critics also pointed out the newspaper trimmed out the American flag which was flying above Trump in the image of him raising a fist with blood across his face moments after a bullet struck him in the right ear.
NBC was criticized for describing the former president 'clutching his ear' after 'popping noises were heard' at the campaign rally.
Gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, from Bethel Park, PA, fired several rounds from a rooftop including one bullet which struck Trump in the ear. It came just days before the former president was to accept the Republican nomination for 2024.
Crooks - a registered Republican who donated $15 to the liberal ActBlue political action committee on Biden's Inauguration Day in 2021 - killed former fire chief Corey Comperatore, and injured two more people before cops gunned him down.
The Biden administration rushed the president back to the White House from his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware in the immediate aftermath, and he condemned the shooting on X.
