On Sunday’s State of the Union, conservative commentator S.E. Cupp blasted the media for distorting Jeb Bush comments after the Oregon shooting in which the Republican presidential candidate argued that “stuff happens. There's always a crisis. And the impulse is always to do something and it's not necessarily the right thing to do.”
Cupp accused the media of committing “journalistic malfeasance” for claiming that “Jeb Bush's response to the Oregon shooting is stuff happens. That's just not what he said. That’s not how he said it. That's not what he meant...”
While Cupp admitted that Bush’s comments were “inartful,” the CNN contributor continued to hammer those in the press that deliberately distorted his comments as evidence of a clear “bias” in the media:
But whether he's using the word retarded correctly or, you know, giving a long answer, these are the opportunities that the media really shows a bias because he was not wrong when he said what he said. Could he have said it a little better? Sure. But to imply that Jeb Bush somehow does not care about what happened in Oregon this week is absolutely unacceptable.
See relevant transcript below:
CNN’s State of the Union
October 4, 2015
JAKE TAPPER: We only have a few more minutes. I want to turn from this to the Oregon shooting and comments made by Jeb Bush that you were just referring to. Jeb Bush, he gave a very long answer, but among the many, many words in his long answer was this --
JEB BUSH: It's very sad to see, but I resist the notion -- and I had this challenge has governor, because, look, stuff happens. There's always a crisis. And the impulse is always to do something and it's not necessarily the right thing to do.TAPPER: Stuff happens. Now obviously there was more than that. Even Donald Trump is jumping on this S.E.
S.E. CUPP: Look, in no way, shape, or reform was Jeb Bush's response to the Oregon shooting is stuff happens. That's just not what he said. That’s not how he said it. That's not what he meant, and I think it's real journalistic malfeasance to present it, the newspapers that have presented that single headline is completely unacceptable. Jeb Bush is often inartful. He often doesn't say the thing that he probably should say. But whether he's using the word retarded correctly or, you know, giving a long answer, these are the opportunities that the media really shows a bias because he was not wrong when he said what he said. Could he have said it a little better? Sure. But to imply that Jeb Bush somehow does not care about what happened in Oregon this week is absolutely unacceptable.
TAPPER:” I agree. And that's why I said there was a lot that was in there, but, Dan as you know, welcome to the NFL. This is what happens.
DAN PFEIFFER: Yeah.
TRUMP: Often people say stupid things in the context of a 20 minute speech. It’s that one sentence.
PFEIFFER: Jeb Bush is very bad at running for president. Very bad. He says the wrong thing all the time. I agree with S.E. I don't think he was being callous to the victims of the Oregon shooting, right? But there's a little bit of reap what you sow here. The Republicans had an entire day at their convention in 2012 basing the idea of the president saying you didn't build that which was also an inartful statement.
So, you kind of live by the sword, die by the sword. I do think the problem with Jeb Bush’s answer is it's not that he said stuff happens. It’s that then he went on and said well, you know, if a kid almost drowns we don't put up a new pool fencing law. Except that's what he did as governor. So government response is okay for dealing with pools but not okay with guns perhaps because the pool lobby is not as strong as the gun lobby.
