The president of the Media Research Center demands the Associated Press apologize to Sen. Ted Cruz for distributing a photograph depicting a gun pointed directly at the GOP candidate for President’s face.
MRC President Brent Bozell has released a statement strongly condemning the image and calling on the wire service to launch an investigation and apologize to Senator Cruz.
This is disgusting. Just days after a horrific shooting that took nine lives, the AP has the gall to unapologetically display a gun aimed at the head of a presidential candidate. They would never do this to Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. Nor should they.
The AP is lying. This was not an accident. They made a deliberate decision to publish the photo. The AP owes Senator Cruz, his wife Heidi, and his children an immediate and unqualified apology. Furthermore, I am calling on the AP to conduct a complete investigation of everyone involved in the publishing of the photo and to fire those who ultimately made the decision to publish the photo.
This image released by the wire service comes less than a week after a crazed loner used a handgun to kill nine church-goers in Charleston, South Carolina.
The photo that outraged many lasted only a few hours on Monday before it was sent down the memory hole.
On Monday morning, Breitbart reported about the AP’s odd photo, a tight closeup of Ted Cruz’ head taken as he was speaking to a gun rights group. In the background of the image was a large poster of a semi-automatic handgun. The effect of the image was to give the impression that the giant handgun was aimed squarely at Cruz’ brain.
It wasn’t long after the morning reporting on the AP image that the wire service removed the image from its on-line library and ceased distributing the photo.
AP confirmed to Breitbart that the image was removed, and also said that the photo was never intended as an attack on the Texan.
Breitbart contacted the AP for a response to the MRC chief’s statement, but did not receive comment.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter: @warnerthuston. Email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.
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