On the radio: Herman Cain slams media for “fanning the flames of resentment” for Zimmerman

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Herman Cain sounded off about the Zimmerman trial on his radio program this week, slamming the main stream media for obsessing of the George Zimmerman trial and “fanning the flames of resentment.”

“I call it the court versus the court of public opinion,” Cain said on his program. “And this is another instance where the court of public opinion took over and a lot of people believe that the court’s verdict should have been the same as the court to of public opinion.

“This is the same type of mob thinking that attacked Paula Deen. Same type of thing. People that didn’t want to wait for the evidence — the flames just kept getting fanned,” he said.

“Now in this particular case, with respect to Zimmerman, and Trayvon Martin, the jury verdict in a criminal case is determined by the facts and evidence provided in the court room — not on TV. Whether you like the George Zimmerman verdict or not, it’s under these circumstances that he was acquitted and the same system has been protecting people of wrongful convictions for more than two centuries. It doesn’t mean that you always agree with the verdict; it doesn’t mean that the system is always perfect. But it’s one of the best systems on the planet,” he continued.

“From the beginning, the media chose to be obsessed with the killing of Trayvon Martin. I’m sorry the kid is dead. I regret the whole situation happening. But the media continues to obsess over it. I got up this morning  to get prepared to come to the studio. No matter which news program I looked at, of course they’re reporting the verdict. Fine. But then, they’re highlighting rallies in major cities around the country. Fine. Rally all you want to. But the court of public opinion, should not, did not, determine the court verdict. We’ve got to keep that distinction folks.”

MSNBC’s “Politics Nation” host Al Sharpton announced a 100-city protest tour to attract attention from the Justice Department to take up the Zimmerman ruling as a civil rights case.

“The reason that people in the civil rights community, including [Sharpton’s] National Action Network, is talking about these hundred cities that we’re mobilizing this weekend, is not just questioning a verdict but, saying a precedent is now set where the Justice Department must come in,” Sharpton said.

Cain, meanwhile, sees concern over the politicization of the trial.

“You see the media turned the trial into a political conflict? I’m sorry to see so many people on both sides of the ideological divide played the hype, rooting for their guy. There was no ‘their guy.’ How about rooting for justice? Rooting for Martin or Zimmerman as if one was a proxy for liberalism and one was a proxy for conservative thought?”

“The media’s continued insistence on fanning the flames of resentment all based on emotion, hearsay and spin.  It could have some real and potentially tragic consequences folks,” he said.

Betsi Fores is a Content Editor at Rare. Follow her on Twitter @ejfores.

See also on Rare

• On the radio: Herman Cain talks to Rep. Tom Price about GOP’s Obamacare replacement plan
• Al Sharpton plans 100-city protest tour
• Al Sharpton: “This is a sad day for the country”
• Top Zimmerman verdict reactions on Twitter