Remember when CNN stood in front of burning buildings during the 2020 riots and called them “mostly peaceful protests”? Those “peaceful” demonstrations somehow managed to cause over $2 billion in damage across America. Funny how that works, isn’t it? The liberal media has perfected the art of linguistic gymnastics—where violence magically transforms into “protest” when it serves their narrative.

This selective definition of violence has become something of a specialty for left-leaning news outlets. When conservatives gather, they’re “dangerous extremists,” but when leftists smash windows and torch businesses, they’re just “expressing their frustration.” It’s almost impressive how consistently they apply this double standard. Have you noticed how quickly the definitions change depending on who’s doing the protesting?

When ‘Peaceful’ Means ‘We Agree With the Cause’

The media’s playbook hasn’t changed much over the years. During the “Summer of Love” in 2020, we watched reporters standing in front of literal infernos while insisting that what we were seeing wasn’t really violence. Buildings ablaze behind them? Just a minor detail! The important thing was that the cause was righteous—at least according to their political compass.

Fast forward to 2025, and MSNBC’s Ari Melber is dusting off that same tired playbook. This time, he’s applying it to President Trump’s recent comments about violence against Tesla dealerships. But there’s just one tiny problem—Melber completely misrepresented what Trump actually said. Sound familiar? It should, because it’s Media Manipulation 101.

MSNBC’s Creative Interpretation

On Wednesday’s broadcast of “The Beat,” Melber claimed that President Trump was labeling peaceful Tesla protesters as “domestic terrorists,” painting a picture of an authoritarian president ready to sic the government on innocent demonstrators.

From ‘Breitbart’:

“And then Trump recently said he agrees with a suggestion that people who protest Tesla are actually, ‘domestic terrorists’ ‘harming a great American company.’ We would not expect American judges to allow any sort of treatment of protesters as domestic terrorists because they go to a Tesla, as you see here.” He then showed footage of some protests at Tesla dealerships.

What Melber conveniently omitted was that Trump specifically referred to violence against Tesla, not peaceful protests. In fact, the very Reuters article that Melber displayed on screen was headlined “Trump says violence against Tesla is domestic terrorism” and explicitly noted that the domestic terrorism remarks were referring to violence—not protests.

But why let facts get in the way of a good narrative? Why bother with accuracy when misrepresentation gets better ratings?

Same Playbook, Different Day

This isn’t just about one misleading segment on MSNBC. It’s about a pattern of deliberate distortion that’s become standard operating procedure for much of the mainstream media. When violence targets businesses or causes aligned with conservatives, it’s downplayed, justified, or ignored entirely. When conservatives speak out against such violence, their words are twisted to make them sound unreasonable or extreme.

Imagine for a moment if right-wing protesters were attacking electric vehicle dealerships owned by a liberal CEO who supported Democrats. Would Melber be so quick to defend the attackers? Would he misrepresent a statement condemning such violence? We all know the answer, don’t we?

The media’s protection racket only works in one direction. Violence against conservative-aligned businesses is treated as justified activism, while defense of those businesses is portrayed as authoritarian overreach. It’s a game as old as politics itself, but one that’s becoming increasingly transparent to American viewers. And as President Trump’s second term progresses, expect to see this playbook deployed with increasing desperation.

Key Takeaways:

• MSNBC’s Ari Melber deliberately twisted Trump’s words, claiming he called peaceful Tesla protesters “terrorists.”
• Trump was specifically condemning violent attacks at dealerships.
• The same media outlets that downplayed billions in property damage as “mostly peaceful protests” now frame protection of businesses from actual violence as extremism.
• This selective definition of “violence” versus “protest” exposes the media’s glaring double standard.

Source: Breitbart