Media Outlet Criticized for Trying to Normalize ’the Death of Trump’

Former U.S. President Donald Trump looks on during a campaign rally at Trendsetter Engineering Inc. in Houston, Texas, on Nov. 2, 2023. Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Media outlet Business Insider was criticized over the weekend after publishing an article that offered speculation regarding what would happen “if Donald Trump dies while running in the 2024 election.”

In an article published Saturday, the outlet, also known as Insider, listed several different scenarios that would occur if the former president passed away before the GOP primary, during the primary, or between the primary and the general election. Former President Trump, 77, is by far the leading GOP presidential candidate, besting the No. 2 and No. 3 candidates by more than 45 percentage points, respectively.

“If Trump died during primary season—which ends in mid-June—some states may postpone their scheduled primaries,” the article said, in part. “If Trump died after the last primary contest but before the Republican National Convention, the other GOP presidential candidates would have to make a case to every state delegation at the convention for why they should be the party’s nominee,” it also said.

Insider also recently ran an article with the title, “What happens if a sitting president dies while running for reelection,” including a photo of President Joe Biden. However, unlike the Trump article, Insider did not specifically make reference to President Biden in the headline. And unlike the Trump article, Insider used President Biden’s last name sparingly throughout the article, although it did mention that President Biden turned 81 several days ago.

“If the president died during primary season—which ends in mid-June—some states may postpone their scheduled primaries,” the article stated.

After Insider published the speculative article regarding President Trump’s death during the primary, some conservative commentators offered criticism. Some also claimed it’s part of an attempt to normalize President Trump’s death, suggesting a nefarious plot could be carried out.

“First, Levi Strauss heir Rep. Dan Goldman says Trump must be ‘eliminated,’ and now Business Insider is openly asking: What would happen if Donald Trump ‘dies while seeking reelection’ in 2024?” wrote commentator Charlie Kirk on X. “Don’t put anything past these people.”

Human Events editor Jack Posobiec also suggested on X that it was “pointed out the media has begun normalizing the death of Trump again. Now this.” He made reference to his conversation with pollster Richard Baris, who made a comment about such reports.

“I think it’s pretty clear what message they’re sending when they speculate about the death of a candidate they claim is ‘worse than Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, etc. combined,’” Mr. Baris wrote in an X post in response.  “The last time they did this, a lefty nutcase decided it was heroic to shoot [Republican Rep. Steve Scalise] and 4 others.”

In 2017, Rep. Scalise (R-La.) was shot during a practice session for the Congressional Baseball Game in Virginia. A 66-year-old self-described Bernie Sanders supporter, James Hodgkinson, was identified as the shooting suspect before he was killed by officers in a shootout.

The Epoch Times has contacted Insider for comment Sunday. The outlet has not publicly responded to the criticism of the Trump article on social media or elsewhere. President Trump also has not made any comments about it.

Based in New York City, Business Insider was purchased in 2015 by German mass media company Axel Springer SE, which purchased popular politics website Politico in 2021. The company also owns European brands Bild, Die Welt, and other media outlets.

What the Polls Show

Several recent polls show that more Americans view President Biden as being too old to serve another term effectively. Fewer Americans believe President Trump is too old to serve.

A Monmouth University poll published last month found 76 percent of voters believe the president is too old, compared to 48 percent who said the same thing about President Trump.

In another poll from The Associated Press-NORC published in August, some 77 percent said President Biden is too old to serve another four years in office. In contrast, around half of American adults said the same about President Trump.

President Biden was asked about his age again over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. “Mr. President, are you too old to be running for re-election?” a journalist asked him while he was shopping in Nantucket on Saturday, according to a clip. “That’s stupid,” President Biden responded with a smile.

As for the GOP primary, an aggregate of recent polls shows that President Trump has 61.6 percent of the vote, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is No. 2 with 13.7 percent, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley has 9.8 percent, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy has 4.9 percent, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is at 2.3 percent.