KATY TUR (GUEST HOST): Charlie, I want to talk to you about a new letter that was posted the website Medium, from the daughter of Sandy Hook victim Dawn Hochsprung. She was asking Donald Trump to denounce talk show -- talk radio host Alex Jones.
Now, let's read a little bit of what she wrote: “My mother was shot and killed in the Sandy Hook school four years ago, along with five of her colleagues and 20 first graders. Since then, radio host Alex Jones has fanned the flames of a hateful conspiracy theory, claiming that the shooting that took my mother never happened. It's unthinkable, it's unacceptable, I'm asking you to denounce it immediately, and cut ties with Alex Jones and anyone who subscribes to these dangerous ideas.”
Again, a letter written by the daughter of a Sandy Hook victim to Donald Trump. Is there any expectation he will do this?
CHARLIE SYKES: No, none, because has Donald Trump ever apologized or distanced himself from any of his enablers? You know, we've talked in the past about this alternative reality media, and this alternative reality bubble. I think one of the most disturbing parts of this is the association with alt-right enabling sites like Breitbart, and these weird -- this weird Infowars is deep in the fever swamp of experience theories.
It is so bizarre, it is so out there, and the fact that Donald Trump has been so close, has been a guest on Alex Jones, has praised Alex Jones, called Alex Jones and thanked him, is one of these really troubling problems because you wonder who has his ear? What does he believe? What is his filter? Which media outlets is he going to empower and weaponize, now that he has the White House?
We've focused on Steve Bannon and Breitbart, but the Alex Jones Infowars stuff is so off the chart, it's really hard to even get your head around what it represents. But you know, yes, he definitely should distance himself from Alex Jones, but he is Donald Trump, and he is not going to.
