Two embarrassing episodes over the previous 24 hours highlighted the depth of President Donald Trump’s credibility disaster as time runs quick f
Two embarrassing episodes over the previous 24 hours highlighted the depth of President Donald Trump’s credibility disaster as time runs quick for him to show round his flailing reelection marketing campaign.
From refusing to denounce an absurd, clearly false on-line conspiracy concept throughout a high-profile city corridor on NBC to retweeting a satirical web site as if it’s breaking information, it’s changing into more and more troublesome to inform if Trump can separate truth from fiction.
Whereas Trump campaigns on deceptive messages in regards to the coronavirus (which he insists goes away regardless of rising case numbers) and the financial system (which he says is powerful whilst he’s poised to develop into the primary president in fashionable historical past to supervise a internet shrinkage in jobs), he’s behaving on-line like that far-right member of the family we’ve all needed to mute on Fb. And he doesn’t really feel any disgrace about it.
At this late date, everybody, whether or not they’re on social media or not, understands that Trump isn’t above mendacity. However an trade throughout his NBC city corridor with Savannah Guthrie showcased for viewers who aren’t on Twitter simply how off the rails his posting has develop into.
Trump is media illiterate: He can’t discern the distinction between good info and dangerous
Guthrie grilled Trump a few retweet he posted on Wednesday night of a conspiracy concept promoted by a QAnon account. The tweet accused Biden of pulling strings to take out the group of Navy SEALs who killed Osama bin Laden — a concept refuted by the truth that each Navy SEAL concerned within the bin Laden raid is in actual fact nonetheless alive.
As an alternative of even making an attempt to defend himself, Trump urged to Guthrie that as a result of he learn it on the web it is likely to be true, describing the conspiracy concept as “an opinion of any individual and that was a retweet. I’ll put it on the market. Individuals can determine for themselves. I don’t take a place.”
It’s clearly reckless and irresponsible for the president to amplify incendiary conspiracy theories which can be clearly false, to not point out defend QAnon, which he did throughout the identical city corridor. And in one of many extra memorable moments of the night, Guthrie hit again, admonishing Trump, “You’re the president. You’re not somebody’s loopy uncle who can retweet no matter.”
Watch:
However in case you thought Guthrie drawing blood on nationwide TV could be sufficient to chasten Trump, he shortly demonstrated in any other case.
On Friday morning, Trump embarrassed himself for the second time inside a day by retweeting an article from the satirical Babylon Bee web site (the location’s motto is “Faux information you may belief”) as a part of a failed assault on Twitter and Hunter Biden.
Twitter Shuts Down Complete Community To Gradual Unfold Of Unfavourable Biden Information https://t.co/JPmjOrKPcr by way of @TheBabylonBee Wow, this has by no means been carried out in historical past. This consists of his actually dangerous interview final evening. Why is Twitter doing this. Bringing extra consideration to Sleepy Joe & Large T
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 16, 2020
Suffice it to say, Twitter didn’t shut down to be able to suppress dangerous Hunter Biden information. However as a substitute of admitting his error and even deleting the tweet, Trump adopted up with one other, clarifying that by “Large T” he wasn’t referring to himself, however fairly “Large Tech.”
Large T was not a reference to me, however fairly to Large Tech, which ought to have been correctly identified in Twitter’s Faux Trending Part!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 16, 2020
The CEO of the Babylon Bee, Seth Dillon, responded to Trump by tweeting, sarcastically, that his satire website is “the president’s most trusted information supply.”
It’s unclear whether or not Trump has anyone in his orbit at this level who’s prepared to level out to him that he’s tweeting out satire as if it’s breaking information. It’s additionally potential he merely has no disgrace about amplifying egregious faux information if he thinks getting folks to imagine lies is in his self-interest.
Regardless of the case, it’s clear that this president’s fact barometer is damaged past restore. He has entry to the very best intelligence on the earth, but all too typically he’s liable to imagine something he reads on the web as long as it’s helpful for his political ends. And his faux information drawback solely appears to be getting worse.
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