On Monday, President Donald Trump claimed that the U.S. media routinely underreported acts of terrorism, hinting at a hidden agenda. While he didn’t bother to cite any specific instances, Trump did announce the release of a list of terrorist acts that flew under the “dishonest” Western media’s radar.
“You’ve seen what happened in Paris and Nice. All over Europe, it’s happening,” Trump said in his remarks, which The Washington Post notes were delivered off-script. “It’s gotten to a point where it’s not even being reported. And in many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesn’t want to report it. They have their reasons, and you understand that.”
Here's the list the White House sent of attacks they feel "did not receive adequate attention from Western media sources." pic.twitter.com/lj8eOZQfnY
— Kevin Liptak (@Kevinliptakcnn) February 7, 2017
CNN’s Anderson Cooper presented a short but brutal rebuttal of Trump’s list, citing instances where he covered some the listed events personally.
“Not only did we cover many of attacks the White House released, we covered them heavily,” he said Monday night on “Anderson Cooper 360.” “I know because I was there on the ground reporting a number of them. ‘360’ was in Ottawa, Canada, October of 2014, [and] that’s on the list.”
Trump included other items on his list including non-fatal attacks in countries outside the U.S. to pad his list. Here are just a few examples from the Huffington Post (Note this is the unedited list from the White House which includes several misspellings):
N’DJAMENA, CHAD
November, 2016
TARGET: No casualties; attacker arrested after opening fire at entrance of US Embassy
ATTACKER: Chadian national
KUWAIT CITY, KUWAIT
TARGET: No casualties; vehicle carrying three US soldiers hit by a truck
ATTACKER: Ibrahim Sulayman
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
October, 2016
TARGET: Two police officers wounded in stabbing
ATTACKER: Belgian national
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
September, 2016
TARGET: One civilian wounded in knife attack
ATTACKER: Ihsas Khan
EL GORA, EGYPT
October, 2015
TARGET: No casualties; airfield used by MFO attacked with rockets
ATTAKER: Unidentified ISIL-Sinai operatives
MERCED, CA, US
November, 2015
TARGET: Four wounded in knife attack on a college campus
ATTAKER: US person
You get the idea.
Trump continues his dangerous game of trying to discredit the media. Fortunately, Cooper was there to checkmate him with the truth. But now the president is targeting the judicial branch by laying the blame for any potential terrorist act at the feet of a federal judge who had the audacity slap a restraining order on his unconstitutional Muslim ban. In short, Trump is systematically trying to remove all checks and balances that stand in his way. This so-called list is just the first of many propaganda tools he will use to try and drive a wedge between the American people and the institutions designed to keep him honest.
In short, Trump is systematically seeking to remove all checks and balances that stand in his way. This so-called list is just the first of many propaganda tools he will use to try and drive a wedge between the American people and the institutions designed to keep him honest.
While one can feel numb from the constant bombardment of the Trump administration’s lies and absurd political spin, it’s important not to lose focus on what’s at stake. America has a president who wants to abolish the Democratic Republic and replace it with an ideological dictatorship. We must not let that happen.
Featured image via CNN
