The NRA came out with their same old tired rhetoric yesterday and then a funny thing happened. A few companies called BS. Shortly after Wayne LaPierre spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) where it seemed he was trying to sell more guns in the wake of the Parkland school shooting, companies who worked with the NRA began ending their relationships.
In the past 24 hours, these companies have ended their relationship with the @NRA:
Best Western
Wyndham Hotels
Alamo Rent A Car
National Rent A Car
Enterprise Rent A Car
First National Bank of Omaha#BoycottNRA— Michael Skolnik (@MichaelSkolnik) February 23, 2018
Losing money could be what leads to real change. If you recall even after Fox News Channel’s Bill O’Reilly was accused of sexual harassment the network re-signed him to a new contract, but when sponsors started backing out suddenly he was out. It’s a cycle, public outcry leads to a loss of advertisers or partners, then a company actually starts listening.
According to Bloomberg, Kevin Langin, a spokesman for First National Bank of Omaha said, “Customer feedback has caused us to review our relationship with the NRA. As a result, First National Bank of Omaha will not renew its contract with the National Rifle Association to issue the NRA Visa Card.”
First National Bank of Omaha ends its Visa Card contract with the NRA. pic.twitter.com/jITSC6AXFP
— Maddow Blog (@MaddowBlog) February 23, 2018
And attacks on the media may not be helping the NRA either. It may have worked for Donald Trump in the past, but a comment by Thursday by NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch clearly went too far. She remarked that “Many in legacy media love mass shootings…Crying white mothers are ratings gold.”
When Good Morning America reported on this Friday morning, Robin Roberts took a stand saying Loesch’s claims were “baseless.”
Robin Roberts Rebukes NRA Spox Dana Loesch For Claiming Media ‘Love Mass Shootings’: ‘Baseless’ https://t.co/6cwOsq14pH pic.twitter.com/e5OZvBQCXd
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) February 23, 2018
And other members of the media are also taking offense to the offensive claim. CNN’s Alyson Camerota challenged Loesch on the comment Friday morning.
Alisyn Camerota to NRA spokeswoman: “You think we love mass shootings? … It’s just malicious, actually, that you would say that. I don’t know anybody in the media who likes mass shootings… We pray that there’s never another one.” https://t.co/qzE1DxoncO https://t.co/a0QY03VTYU
— CNN (@CNN) February 23, 2018
WATCH: #VelshiRuhle respond to the NRA's Dana Loesch, who suggested the media loves covering mass shootings for ratings.
"I hate this more than I hate anything else that I do in my job. To suggest that we enjoy this … it's just a terrible approach." pic.twitter.com/CGr7kT5S64
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) February 22, 2018