Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa., told Newsmax Friday that media outlets, like NPR, referring to Japan's assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as a "divisive extremist" are spreading propaganda instead of reporting the truth.
"[Abe] had a three-pronged plan to make Japan's economy as strong as it could be, and for that reason, and he put country first, and for that reason, the media finds it necessary to call him divisive, and refer to him as an extremist," Meuser said during "American Agenda" Friday. "It's just it's a false narrative that they're desperately trying to deliver."
Abe, 67, was shot in the back during a speech in Nara, Japan, on Friday, by a former member of the Japanese Navy with a homemade gun.
Abe, who was hit in the chest and neck by one of the two shots, suffered massive damage to his heart and another artery, causing a massive loss of blood and his heart to stop.
He was later pronounced dead at Nara Medical University.
Abe was the longest serving prime minister in Japan since World War II, serving from 2006-07, and again from 2012-20 when he stepped down due to health reasons.
"Really bad news for the world. Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is dead," former President Donald Trump said in a statement posted on Truth Social Friday. "He was assassinated. His killer was captured and will hopefully be dealt with swiftly and harshly. Few people know what a great man and leader Shinzo Abe was, but history will teach them and be kind. He was a unifier like no other, but above all, he was a man who loved and cherished his magnificent country, Japan. Shinzo Abe will be greatly missed. There will never be another like him."
Meuser said the media, including a story on the assassination by NPR, calling Abe "divisive," and an "extremist," may have had more to do with his similarity to Trump in his nationalism for Japan.
In a since-removed post on Twitter announcing Abe's death, NPR called him "a divisive arch-conservative."
"What a terrible example 24 hours after, who was a great man [and] prime minister, derogating him in this manner," Meuser said. "The prime minister was a great friend to the U.S., respected the U.S., wanted to work with the U. S and for some reason, we've got a mainstream media that wants to try to convince people that he was something other than a strong leader who loved his country."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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