Nancy Pelosi spreads the Trump bloodbath hoax on CNN

Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” early Sunday morning, where she perpetuated the hoax that Donald Trump claimed he would “exact a bloodbath” if he loses the 2024 election. When Trump spoke about a "bloodbath" at a recent rally he was referring entirely to losses within the auto industry of both jobs and revenue under Biden administration policies.

Speaking with CNN’s Dana Bash, Pelosi promoted the new anti-Trump hoax by implying the former President is calling for violence if he is not reelected in November. She also accused Trump of “praising Hitler” and “praising Russia," two equally false things.

"We just have to win this election because he's even predicting a bloodbath. What does that mean? He's going to exact a bloodbath? There's something wrong here. How respectful I am of the American people and their goodness. But how much more do they have to see from him to understand that this isn't what our country is about,” Pelosi said.

The reference to the term “bloodbath” comes after Trump’s recent remarks at a Ohio rally on Saturday, where he warned of severe repercussions for the US auto industry and the country as a whole if he were not to win this year's election.

Speaking at the rally, Trump addressed concerns over car manufacturing plants being built in Mexico with those car makers intending to sell the cars into the US. He suggested that if he were to win another term, his administration would impose a 100% tariff on cars imported from these plants. He emphasized the importance of prioritizing American workers and preventing the outsourcing of jobs.

However, Trump also cautioned that if he were not reelected, it would lead to significant repercussions for the country, describing it as a "bloodbath" for the entire nation. 

"Now if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole – that’s gonna be the least of it. It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country,” Trump cautioned. “That will be the least of it. But they’re not going to sell those cars. They’re building massive factories."

Despite this necessary context, multiple news outlets seized on Trump's remarks, sharing out-of-context headlines that implied he was calling for violence if he were not re-elected. Politico posted a headline titled "Trump says the country faces ‘bloodbath’ if Biden wins in November." NBC also ran a headline titled, “Trump says there will be a ‘bloodbath’ if he loses the election."

The clear use of this term without its proper context was designed to mislead readers into thinking that the former President was calling for violence if he is not re-elected.

In a comment to NBC, Trump’s campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt further reiterated the intention behind this term.

"Biden’s policies will create an economic bloodbath for the auto industry and autoworkers,” she explained.