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Wolf Blitzer pleads for Trump to take it easier on journalists covering his rallies
(Kellyanne Conway and Wolf Blitzer on "The Situation Room."CNN)
CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer called out Donald Trump for encouraging hostility toward journalists who cover his rallies.
Blitzer pleaded with Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway for the Republican nominee to take it easier on members of the press.
"They go to all the rallies, they're in this pen, he points to them, he sort of eggs the crowd on to go after them," Blitzer said. "And they're a lot of young journalists there. They're scared sometimes."
"I know them all, I respect them all," Conway began to answer, before Blitzer cut her off.
"He shouldn't be doing that," Blitzer fired back. "Could you talk to him and say to him, 'Mr. Trump, we only have a few days left. These are hardworking young journalists. They deserve some security.'"
Conway attempted to partially shift the blame to journalists themselves, who she said were being overly negative in their coverage of Trump.
"Their Twitter feed is for some of them, we've done an analysis, 85, 90% negative towards Donald Trump," Conway said. "You didn't hear anything good to say? There's nothing good to report that day that you would actually put in your Twitter feed? So I think the responsibility has to go both ways."
(Distrust of the media has become a central theme at Donald Trump's campaign rallies.Tom Pennington / Getty Images)
Trump has made no secret of his disdain for the media over the course of his campaign, and began escalating his rhetoric after a number of women accused him of sexual assault. In recent weeks, he has accused the media of supposedly "rigging" the election in favor of Democrat Hillary Clinton — a claim he repeatedly makes with no evidence to back it up.
In response, Trump supporters have redirected their anger to embedded journalists at his rallies. Some have described unusual levels of hostility they've encountered on the campaign trail.
On "The Situation Room" on Tuesday, Conway said she would relay Blitzer's request to the candidate, who she said was "probably watching right now."
If Trump was, the message fell on deaf ears. About 20 minutes later, at a rally in Tallahassee, Florida, Trump blasted the press once more.
"There is nothing more corrupt than those people," he said to roaring applause. "They are a corrupt group."
The media's reception wasn't all bad at the Tallahassee rally, however:
A note that we just received from someone attending the Trump rally here in Tallahassee: pic.twitter.com/2NqvWSONFU
— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) October 25, 2016
Watch the exchange below:
.@wolfblitzer asks @KellyannePolls to have Trump stop calling out the media at his rallies https://t.co/tfkKpolZbh
— The Situation Room (@CNNSitRoom) October 25, 2016
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