CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter said Monday on “News Central” that the murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte light rail train last month is being used by “MAGA Media” as a “political symbol,” which is stoking racism.
Host Brianna Keilar said, “This actually happened last month. It only gained national news attention here in the past couple of days. Why is that?”
Stelter said, “Well, most murders in the U.S. never become national news. This one has garnered attention for a couple of reasons. Number one, first and foremost, the recent release of that gruesome video. Second, the energy from pro-Trump activists they picked up on this video from local news and ran with it. It’s a little bit like the times when Civil Rights groups have raised attention about police involved shootings. In this case, it is Trump aligned influencers who are posting up a storm about this case on social media. Really over the weekend Elon Musk, Charlie Kirk, other Trump aligned figures succeeded in making this senseless death a symbol of big city crime.”
He added, “We heard President Trump asked about it yesterday when he was heading home from New York City. He didn’t seem to know much about it. He said he would get briefed. And then today, Trump did know all about it. That’s exactly what has happened here. This story has trickled up from so from local news to social media and now to the president’s attention. And it’s being used, as you said, Brianna, as a political symbol with MAGA media calling for more forceful punishments and more incarceration. I have to say, some of the replies to Musk, some of the comments around this story are baldly racist, stoking fear of African-Americans because this man attacked a white woman. The open racism on sites like X today, it’s eye popping. But there are also legitimate questions about this so-called career criminal, someone who had been a repeat offender. Those questions, I hope they’re not lost amid all of the cesspool kind of comments on social media.”
Follow Pam Key on X @pamkeyNEN
