Media Mistakes in the Trump Era: The Definitive List

Sharyl Attkisson  "We the media have "fact-checked" President Trump like we have fact-checked no other human being on the planet, and he's certainly given us plenty to write about. That's probably why it's so easy to find lists enumerating and examining his mistakes, missteps and "lies."

"But as self-appointed arbiters of truth, we've largely excused our own unprecedented string of fact-challenged reporting. The truth is, formerly well-respected, top news organizations are making repeat, unforced errors in numbers that were unheard of just a couple of years ago.

 "Our repeat mistakes involve declaring that Trump's claims are "lies" when they are matters of opinion, or when the truth between conflicting sources is unknowable; taking Trump's statements and events out of context; reporting secondhand accounts against Trump without attribution as if they're established fact; relying on untruthful, conflicted sources; and presenting reporter opinions in news stories,without labeling them as opinions.

"What's worse, we defend ourselves by trying to convince the public that our mistakes are actually a virtue because we (sometimes) correct them. Or we blame Trump for why we're getting so much wrong. Is a little bit like a police officer taking someone to jail for DUI, then driving home drunk himself: he may be correct to arrest the suspect, but he should certainly know better than to commit the same violation.

 

"So since nobody else has compiled an updated, extensive list of this kind, here are:

 

Notable Mistakes and Missteps in Major Media Reporting on Donald Trump

One such: 77. July 4, 2019

Much more here...

On the first day of the Barrett hearing, Democrats were truly awful

 

Then, with voices shaking, multiple senators effectively accused Barrett of plotting mass murder.  It was despicable, and it also once again turned the Supreme Court into a political instrument for the Democrat party.

Barrett doesn't need notes

Andrea Widburg  . . . "In this case, the Democrats opened not by attacking Barrett (although they did that, too).  Instead, they repeatedly attacked the proceedings themselves, saying  they were a sham and therefore illegitimate.  They also invoked Ruth Bader Ginsburg, as if she were a saint rather than a government employee who misused her power.  These attacks had a purpose.  Beginning in 2021, whatever happens next, whether the Democrats win and pack the Court or lose and decide not to abide by its rulings, the foundation will have been laid at this nomination hearing: a Court with Amy Coney Barrett on it is no Court at all. 

"Because the Democrat senators knew they could not possibly make the case that Barrett belonged to a rape gang while in high school, they had to demean her in a different way.  They ultimately decided to paint Barrett as a mass murderer.  Doing this required striking a fairly delicate balance.  Barrett is openly pro-life, which means she opposes the slaughter of those 61 million innocents who have been aborted since 1973.

"The avenue for painting the mild-mannered mother of seven as a person barely better than Ted Bundy was to say, in effect, that she was going to murder Obamacare and, by doing so, kill women and children.  The hook for this argument can be found in the fact that the Supreme Court will hear an Affordable Care Act case on November 11.  The pivot for that case is the 2017 legislation doing away with the tax penalty that was the mechanism Obamacare used to force people to buy insurance." . . .

Hollywood loves Joe Biden because it's kind of like Joe Biden

The bottom line is that these hypocrites know they make lots of money doing nothing of any real importance.  So they want to feel important by lecturing us on how to live.  They are attracted to the redistributionist polices of the left to assuage their conscience about the money they make for the relatively insignificant work they do.

 

 J. Marsolo  "I use the term "Hollywood" to refer to the numerous actors, actresses, singers, and other entertainers such as the NFL and NBA — and also the media, which are a major wing of the Democratic Party.  All of these loudly, openly, and obnoxiously support Joe Biden.

"Why do they support a corrupt, lying career politician who has never had a real job in the private sector but has been on the public payroll for 47 years enriching himself and his family?

"Let us be honest.  Actors read lines written by others, make faces, and change their voices to suit the scene.  Some singers write their own songs.  But again, most sing tunes written by others.

"Athletes such as basketball and football players are born with gifts of physical ability that they hone to play sports.  They can run, jump, catch and throw a ball, and dribble and shoot a ball.

"What does any of the above qualify these people to lecture us on abortion, immigration, and who to vote for for president?

"They "entertain."  There is nothing wrong with entertaining us, but do we need them to lecture us?

"Hollywood comprises a bunch of phony hypocrites who earn more than they ever dreamed they could.  They live in mansions, drive expensive cars, and have no regular real contact with normal working Americans.  They have not invented or improved any machines, products, medicine, or other items that enhance our way of life.

"For example, every day, we get lectured by Rob Meathead Reiner, Barbra Streisand, Alyssa Milano, etc.  The worst is Hanoi Jane Fonda, who laughingly told us that the China virus is a gift from God to the left.

How "COEXIST" misleads Americans

 

https://www.americanthinker.com/cartoons/

Anna Githens (2014) "There is presently no other bumper sticker seemingly more ignorant and presumptuous, in my opinion, than the one that says, "COEXIST." Especially at this point in time, I believe this message, or rather, command, is not only curt and insensitive, but in direct opposition to everything American. Although I find this directive irritating, I am not the least surprised by it since anti-American sentiment seems all the rage right now, and since it aligns nicely with our current administration's main objective: to placate our enemies and fundamentally transform us." . . .

. . . "A major objective of that bumper sticker is to make all religions seem equally irrational, which tells me that either an atheist or an agnostic most likely created it. Lumping all those "silly" religious symbols together shaped into a command for peace certainly gets everyone's attention. At the very least, it may prompt us all to reflect on our "superstitions.' " . . . 

NBC News’ ‘Undecided’ Voters Previously Featured as Biden Supporters on MSNBC

 Washington Free Beacon

"Questioners openly supported Dems prior to Florida town hall"

"NBC News featured a pair of "undecided" voters during a network town hall earlier this week who had previously declared their support for Democratic nominee Joe Biden on the network's sister channel, MSNBC.

"Lawyer Peter Gonzalez and marketing executive Ismael Llano posed questions to Biden during a town hall on Monday, when he appeared before what the network described as an "audience of undecided Florida voters."

"Both Gonzalez and Llano, however, were featured in an MSNBC segment in August to explain why they support Biden. "If we get four more years of Trump, good luck, and good luck with the future attracting younger voters," Gonzalez said as an MSNBC chyron noted he was "voting for Biden." Llano was also identified as "voting for Biden" and offered praise for the former vice president.

"On Monday, NBC's Lester Holt said that Llano "voted for Hillary Clinton four years ago but has voted Republican in the past." Gonzalez, whose voting history went unmentioned, asked Biden to ease his family's concerns that the Democrat is beholden to "the radical left."

"Cuban American and Venezuelan voters here in South Florida are being targeted with messages by the Trump campaign claiming that a vote for Joe Biden is a vote for the radical left and socialism, and even communism," Gonzalez said. "What can you tell people in my family, my friends—who are understandably concerned with that issue—that would make them feel comfortable voting for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris?"

"It is not the first time that television networks have featured Trump opponents masquerading as undecided voters, who are difficult to find and often less publicly vocal about their political views. ABC News last month described several Trump critics as undecided voters, including one who had previously described Trump as a "f—ing moron," "pathetic," "pig," "swine," and a "punk ass" on social media.

"Another "undecided" voter featured in NBC's town hall, Mateo Gomez, told MSNBC on Sept. 30 that he was leaning toward voting Biden over Trump after watching the first debate.

"NBC News did not respond to a request for comment." . . .

Lindsey Graham Immediately Puts Democrats on the Defensive With His Excellent Opening Remarks

 RedState

"Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham struck Democrats during his opening comments in such a way that it not only terminated the talking point that Republicans are trying to rush Barrett’s confirmation through but did so by quoting the left’s recently passed hero, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

"Democrats have been attempting to raise the talking point that Republicans are trying their best to push through Barrett before the election in an unfair manner, insinuating that they’re terrified Donald Trump will lose his reelection campaign and that this is yet another way that Republicans are slimy.

"However, Graham made it clear that it’s highly common for a new justice to be confirmed to the Supreme Court rather quickly. What’s more, those saying that Trump doesn’t really have the right to do so with an election right around the corner and claiming that it would be fair to wait till after the votes have been tallied should probably listen to the worst of Ginsburg herself.

“ 'Justice Ginsburg, when asked about this several years ago, said that a president serves for four years, not three. There’s nothing unconstitutional about this process,” said Graham.

"Graham noted that this is a vacancy that occurred due to the tragic loss of the “great woman” he just quoted and that “the Senate is doing its duty constitutionally.' ” . . .

‘Climate’ Activist Greta Thunberg Throws Her Support Behind Joe Biden

 Legal Insurrection  "Swedish ‘climate activist’ Greta Thunberg on Saturday threw her support behind Democratic candidate Joe Biden as the presidential election enters its final leg. “Just get organized and get everyone to vote Biden,” the 17-year-old activist told her four million followers on Twitter.

"Thunberg, who’s ‘Fridays for Future’ protest movement rejects capitalism and calls for an end to the fossil fuel ‘madness,’ called on her supports to get behind the 77-year-old democratic candidate. “I never engage in party politics. But the upcoming US elections is above and beyond all that,” she tweeted.

"The endorsement by the high-profile ‘climate change’ activist is the last thing Biden needs as he desperately tries to distance himself from the radical green agenda he has been campaigning on until recently. The Democratic candidate denied supporting the Green New Deal during the presidential debate. His campaign website tells a different story. “Biden believes the Green New Deal is a crucial framework for meeting the climate challenges we face,” the official Joe Biden website says.

"The Green New Deal, initially co-sponsored by Biden’s running mate Kamala Harris in the Senate, calls for ending the fossil fuels and banning fracking. Harris makes no secret of her admiration for the Swedish activist. “I’m so inspired by your courage and your voice,” she said last December speaking of Thunberg.

"The Reuters news agency reported Thunberg’s endorsement of Biden:" . . .

Greta Thunberg

I never engage in party politics. But the upcoming US elections is above and beyond all that.

From a climate perspective it’s very far from enough and many of you of course supported other candidates. But, I mean…you know…damn! Just get organized and get everyone to vote #Biden

. . . "Thunberg, who comes from a long line actors (both her father and grandfather are accomplished performance artists), has made a name for herself by giving rant-filled speeches at global conferences. She has been particularly angry at President Trump for his rejection of ‘climate change’ dogma. The U.S. president withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement in 2017, freeing the U.S. industry from globalist diktats. He has also unabashedly championed capitalism, boosting manufacturing jobs at home and promoting oil and gas drilling.

"Thunberg described a possible meeting with President Trump as a  ‘waste of her time’ during her high-profile visit to New York last September. Trump, not known for holding his punches, called her “a teenager working on her anger management problem” after her famous  “How Dare You” speech ".

When only some lives matter, then no lives matter

 The People's Cube

"BLM is only a gimmick. Just like all the other gimmicks in the recent past - like ozone holes or transgender bathrooms - it will soon be replaced by another gimmick, which the media will call a national emergency and an existential issue of the day.

"The gimmick is never the gimmick. The gimmick is always the revolution.

"On the first day of the 1917 Russian revolution, a few years before Stalin assumed the role of an absolute dictator, Leon Trotsky - who at the time was a much bigger figure than Stalin - already told those who disagreed with him: “’You are pitiful, isolated individuals! You are bankrupts. Your role is played out. Go where you belong from now on—into the dustbin of history!’”

"Most of those people were soon killed because their lives didn't matter. Trotsky didn't hesitate to kill because to a communist, some people's lives don't matter at all. Then Trotsky himself was killed by Stalin, along with many of his followers, especially those close to him, who remembered that Trotsky was once a bigger figure than Stalin. Remembering that was a death sentence.

"Among the millions of the Soviet citizens who were killed by their own leader, many were executed just in case - give or take a few hundred thousand - because no lives mattered anymore.

"I've always said that the degree to which a society is civilized is measured by the value it places on an individual human life. In this sense, those who like to call themselves "progressives" are, in fact, dragging us back to the dark times when some lives mattered but the majority didn't."

P.S.  The picture of Stalin holding a "No Lives Matter" sign was sent to me by a friend and I thought it would make a great meme if I added "When only some lives matter, then no lives matter. All Marxist gimmicks end up with mass graves." I'll gladly give credit the original author if he or she shows up.

California’s Illogical Reparations Bill, Covid Rules, (and, well, living your life generally)

 Victor Davis Hanson

Newsom and lawmakers virtue-signal while failing utterly to address the state’s current crises.

"California’s state legislature just passed, and Governor Gavin Newsom signed, Assembly Bill 3121 to explore providing reparations to California’s African-American population — 155 years after the abolition of slavery.

"Apparently, when California’s one-party government cannot find solutions to current existential crises, it turns to divisive issues that have little to do with the safety and well-being of its 40 million citizens.

"California has the highest gas taxes in the nation, even as its ossified state highways remain clogged and dangerous. Why, then, does Sacramento kept pouring billions of dollars into the now-calcified high-speed-rail project?

"When fires raged, killed dozens, polluted the air for months, consumed thousands of structures, and scorched 4 million acres of forest, the governor reacted by thundering about global warming. But Newsom was mostly mute about state and federal green policies that discouraged the removal of millions of dead and drought-stricken trees, which provided the kindling for the infernos.

"When gasoline, sales, and income taxes rose, and yet state schools became even worse, infrastructure remained decrepit, and deficits grew, California demanded that federal COVID-19 money bail out its own financial mismanagement." . . .

Gavin Newsom Issues Absurd Rules for ‘Gatherings’ in CA, Which Will Be Ignored "In a desperate attempt to remain relevant as Californians increasingly ignore his dictates, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-PlumpJack Wines) announced this week that outdoor gatherings are now allowed in the state, subject to a few mandatory requirements.

"Apparently, he missed all of the “gatherings” that have occurred daily in the state since late May.

"The California Department of Health prefaced the gatherings with a hilarious reminder:

All individuals living in the State of California are currently ordered to stay home or at their place of residence, except for permitted work, local shopping or other permitted errands, or as otherwise authorized (including in the Questions & Answers below).

"Hilarious. No one (even the SJW’s who continually complain about their maskless neighbors) has held to those guidelines since at least May." . . .

"Biden-Harris joint appearance in Arizona draws no spectators — as in ZERO attendees"

 That is, when pollsters call and ask a BLM household whether its votes will be for Biden or Trump, whoever answers the phone will say "Biden," because Biden is a figurehead for the BLM vote. "If that's the case, Trump-supporters had better not get cocky.  

Biden-Harris joint appearance in Arizona draws no spectators — as in ZERO attendees

Who are you going to believe — the polls or your lying eyes?  With apologies to Groucho Marx, we now have the answer to the question: "What if they held a Biden-Harris rally and nobody showed up?"  The answer is a shocked TV street reporter: . . .

"With nobody visible on the street outside, the reporter said, "Pretty much all the people we saw who pulled into the parking lot about 45 minutes ago were with the Biden-Harris campaign or the pool reporters."  And she noted that because both halves of the ticket were appearing, it was "technically, a big event."

"Not big enough to draw a crowd." . . .

In Arizona, Biden's supporters left something to be desired  . . . "The Miami car parade was unusual even by Trump standards, but the reality is that Trump-supporters all over America turn out on boats, in cars, and on foot to show their support for Trump.  And invariably, almost no one shows up for Biden.  That's the kind of thing that makes Trump-supporters pretty sure that the polls are lying.

"But stop and think for a minute about the times Biden's supporters were willing to show up.  They took to the streets in the tens of thousands for the Black Lives Matter marches.  That's where the enthusiasm on the left lies.  It's not there for Biden and Harris; it's there for hating America, the police, and white people.

"This raises the possibility that the mystifying support the polls show for Biden is also misdirection, in the same way that the Biden/Harris campaign's bus tour is a pretense.  The pro-Biden polls may be reflecting the Democrat energy that powered the protests and riots.  That is, when pollsters call and ask a BLM household whether its votes will be for Biden or Trump, whoever answers the phone will say "Biden," because Biden is a figurehead for the BLM vote.

"If that's the case, Trump-supporters had better not get cocky.  After all, while comparing Trump rallies to Biden rallies bodes well for Trump, comparing Trump rallies to Black Lives Matter rallies creates a different picture of voter enthusiasm.  It's possible that enough voters who hate America so much that they'll vote for the "not-Trump candidate."  That would be enough to put Biden in the White House and give Democrats control over Congress." . . .

‘Not A Lot Of Fanfare,’ ‘Kinda Boring’: Local News Covers Anemic Biden/Harris Event

Saudi Prince Bandar Denounces Palestinian Leadership: Is Saudi-Israel Peace Deal Next?

 PJ Media   "Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan, one of the most widely recognized and respected Saudi officials in the world, gave a three-part interview to the government-controlled Al Arabiya news network and proceeded to tear down 70 years of myths about the leadership of the Palestinian national movement. Bandar spent 22 years as a Saudi ambassador to the U.S. and is known to speak for the government."

"It was an extraordinary series of interviews — a brutal assessment of the numerous self-inflicted wounds by Palestinian leaders going all the way back to the 1930s. It was broadcast in Arabic with English subtitles on a news network that reaches every country in the region. And while Bandar is no longer in the government, a palace spokesman said he was speaking for Crown Prince Mohammed ben Salman.

"Bandar began by talking about the Mufti of Jerusalem, the very first Palestinian national leader, who made a deal with the Nazis back in the 1930s and got nothing to show for it.

Bandar goes on to mention a list of similar bad choices and decisions: The Arab rejection of the 1948 United Nations partition plan that would have given the Palestinians a state. The Arab League’s rejection of UN Resolution 242 after the 1967 War that called for an Israeli withdrawal from occupied territories; and the Palestinian Liberation Organization rejection of the Clinton Plan in 2000 that would have given the Palestinians a state in most of the West Bank and Gaza.

The most interesting rejection came in 1979, at Camp David. Israel offered Palestinians autonomy in the occupied territories. Yasir Arafat, turned it down flat. Sixteen years later, Arafat signed the Oslo Accord with Israel. Bandar asked him at the time to compare that deal with the terms he had turned down 16 years earlier. Arafat said that the autonomy offer was “10 times better” than Oslo.

"Prince Bandar is candid about the reasons for his monologue. First, he wants a record of how hard the Saudis have worked on behalf of the Palestinians over the decades. Second, he intends to reassure the UAE and Bahrain, which are being vilified by the Palestinians for recognizing Israel — and any other Arab country contemplating a similar step — that the Saudis have their back. Third, he is calling out the PLO and Hamas for making alliances with non-Arab countries Turkey and Iran, who the Saudis consider dangerous. He is signaling that the Saudis will deal only with a new generation of pragmatic, moderate and dependable Palestinian partners. About the current leaders, he is candid: “It is difficult to trust them and to d something for the Palestinian cause with them around.” . . .

If Biden Were a Republican

How will you prove to the American people that you are cognitively capable of handling the demands of the world’s most demanding office?

 National Review

"Mr. Biden, you have a history of cultivating disturbingly close relationships with white supremacists.

"As segregationists were dying off in the 1970s, you went out of your way to be pals with them, then bragged about it. You once called notorious segregationist Senator Strom Thurmond “one of my closest friends.” In 1988, when you were mounting a run for president that collapsed when your multiple acts of plagiarism came to light, you deployed a dog whistle when you bragged that the arch-racist former Alabama governor George Wallace had given you a leadership award in 1973. Also in 1988 you noted approvingly that the press would refer to you and Thurmond as the “marvelous marriage” and “the odd couple.” You later delivered a eulogy at Thurmond’s funeral in 2003.

"You once told Mississippi senator John Stennis, a racist opponent of school desegregation, that you viewed him as a “hero” and were honored to take over his office after he retired. In 2010 you gave a eulogy at the funeral of Senator Robert Byrd, a former leader of the Ku Klux Klan whom you called “a dear friend.” As recently as 2008 you were still bragging that you had “deep personal relationships” with segregationist senators James Eastland, Stennis, and Thurmond, and said, “All these men became my friends.” As recently as 2016 you fondly recalled that you welcomed the assistance of Stennis in one of your Senate reelection campaigns even though Stennis once said, “Those who would mix little children of both races in our schools are following an illegal, immoral, and sinful doctrine.” Isn’t your record of supporting these avowed white supremacists disturbing, disgusting, and disqualifying?

"Mr. Biden, President Obama said of you, “Don’t underestimate Joe’s ability to f*** things up.” If the person you worked most closely with considers you a foul-up, why should the American people entrust you with the highest position in the republic?" . . .