Tag: Trump lies

Top Pentagon official throws cold water on right wingers’ ‘Wuhan lab’ bioweapon conspiracy theory

AlterNet logoSome conspiracy theorists on the far right have been claiming that COVID-19 originated in a laboratory in Mainland China and that it was unleashed as a form of biological warfare. And others have claimed that COVID-19 originated in a Chinese lab and escaped because of carelessness — not as some type of bio attack. But according to Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, the “weight of evidence” indicates that the deadly coronavirus has “natural” origins.

On April 14, Milley told reporters at the Pentagon, “There’s a lot of rumor and speculation in a wide variety of media, blog sites, etc. It should be no surprise to you that we’ve taken a keen interest in that, and we’ve had a lot of intelligence look at that. And I would just say at this point, it’s inconclusive — although the weight of evidence seems to indicate natural. But we don’t know for certain.”

Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, a far-right Republican and strident supporter of President Donald Trump, has, at times, floated the conspiracy theory that COVID-19 was unleashed as a bioweapon by the government in Mainland China. But The Guardian’s Julian Borger has noted that Cotton has also “argued (that) natural transmission from animals to humans — or a lab accident — were more likely scenarios.” Continue reading.

President Trump made 18,000 false or misleading claims in 1,170 days

Washington Post logoWhen we last updated our database of President Trump’s false or misleading claims, it was on Jan. 19, the end of his third year as president. The president’s most frequently repeated false claim was that he presided over the best economy in the history of the United States.

The next day, the first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus was reported in the United States. So, with this update through April 3, we’ve added a new category — coronavirus — that already has more than 350 items. Much has changed in the world, with stay-at-home orders, massive economic disruption and topsy-turvy securities markets, but one thing has remained constant — the president’s prolific twisting of the truth.

As of April 3, Trump’s 1,170th day in office, our database shows that he has made 18,000 false or misleading claims. That’s an average of more than 15 claims a day, though since our last update 75 days ago, he’s been averaging just over 23 claims a day. That’s slightly higher than the 22 a day he recorded in 2019. Continue reading.

Sadism, crime and a love of lies: What 3,500 lawsuits reveal about Trump’s true nature

AlterNet logoAmerican presidents before Donald Trump had some record of public achievement in politics, government or the military before they were elected. Donald Trump lacked any of those credentials, but brought his astounding history of involvement in thousands of lawsuits to the nation’s highest office. This trove of cases from more than 45 years reflects Trump’s contempt for ethical standards and for the US Constitution and the rule of law, the foundation of American democracy.

As a perennial litigant, Trump weaponized the law to devastate perceived enemies, to consolidate power, to frustrate opposing parties, as former federal prosecutor and acclaimed author James D. Zirin illuminates in his compelling and disturbing history of Trump’s use and abuse of the law, Plaintiff in Chief: A Portrait of Trump in 3,500 Lawsuits (All Points Books).

Mr. Zirin is a distinguished veteran attorney who spent decades handling complex litigation. He is also a self-described “middle of the road Republican.” Plaintiff in Chief stands as his response to Trump’s disrespect for law and our legal system. He stresses that the book is a legal study, not a partisan takedown. Continue reading.

How the media can — and should — correct Trump’s lies in real time

AlterNet logoFor weeks now, the nation’s broadcasters have faced a moral dilemma every time President Donald Trump mounts the White House podium to deliver his “coronavirus briefing.” While ordinary journalistic standards compel coverage of any president’s remarks — especially during a national crisis — this president’s relentless utterance of falsehoods, propaganda points and potentially deadly disinformation mocks those same standards.

Should media outlets meekly give Trump hours of free airtime to mislead and misinform their audiences? Should they cut short or even ignore his destructive rants without violating their own principles? When the president’s speech poses a daily menace to human health and American democracy, how should responsible TV networks present him?

At CNN, the news producers try to resolve these difficult questions with assiduous fact-checking and commentary from reporters in the immediate wake of Trump’s diatribes. It is a noble gesture toward accuracy and decency.
But White House officials recently threatened to withhold interviews with Dr. Deborah Birx and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the administration’s top pandemic experts, unless the network stops interrupting the lengthy briefing coverage to correct Trump’s lies. By blackmailing network producers with punishment, officials clearly aim to delay the fact-check until the briefing’s conclusion — when most viewers have stopped watching. Continue reading.

Trump once again misleads with bogus claims of voter fraud

Washington Post logo“I’m telling you, in California, in the great state of California, they settled, and we could’ve gone a lot further. Judicial Watch settled where they agreed that a million people should not have voted, where they were 115 years old and lots of things, and people were voting in their place.”

— President Trump, remarks at a news conference, April 8, 2020

In our database of Trump’s false or misleading claims, there are many items that we have collected over the years that for some reason or another had not risen to the level of a full fact check. But here’s a situation where the president’s persistent effort to advance a false narrative cries out for a Pinocchio rating — especially because his latest remarks prompted puzzled inquiries from readers.

Let’s take a look.

Trump, without evidence or by relying on dubious sources, has persistently claimed that massive voter fraud is occurring in the United States. The most recent major case allegedly involved a Republican operative, in North Carolina, but Trump instead suggests such fraud is being perpetrated on behalf of Democrats, especially in blue states. In recent days, he has attacked the whole notion of mail-in voting in a time of coronavirus social distancing, even though he votes by absentee ballot. Continue reading

At White House coronavirus briefings, rescue efforts are extensive but often aspirational

Washington Post logoBad news tends to build up on pandemic days right until prime time, when President Trump and the coronavirus task force gather in the White House briefing room to tamp it down.

There, from the podium, generous quantities of medical supplies are distributed. The innovative forces of American science and industry are marshaling to defeat the enemy and make testing widely available. The economy gets the intensive care it needs for America to quickly recover. The “medical war,” as Trump calls it, is being won.

These pronouncements and pledges have turned out, again and again, to be a description of the administration’s aspirational response to the pandemic, not the one doctors, nurses and stricken families are reporting from the front. Continue reading.

MSNBC interrupts briefing so doctor can refute Trump’s ‘mystifying’ claim that zinc can treat COVID-19

AlterNet logoDr. Vin Gupta, a critical care physician and lung health expert, said Wednesday night that he has seen no evidence to support President Donald Trump’s assertion that zinc—paired with other drugs—is an effective treatment for the novel coronavirus.

During a Coronavirus Task Force briefing Wednesday evening, Trump said “you should add zinc” to any COVID-19 treatment regiment, suggesting that medical professionals have recommended the mineral supplement.

“I want to throw that out there because that’s where they seem to be having the best result,” said Trump, who has faced criticism for recklessly touting unproven coronavirus treatments. “So you add the zinc and the azithromycin, and it’s been—we’ve had a lot of good stories.” Continue reading.

Here’s the poll that proves Republicans are dangerous for your health

AlterNet logoThe latest Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll highlights how disruptive the COVID-19 crisis has been to people’s daily lives, and how unhappy the populace is becoming with Donald Trump’s response to it. Writing at Axios, Drew Altman, president and CEO of KFF, highlights the disconnect the American public is experiencing: 60% say that the federal government should be primarily responsible for the response to the crisis, but 52% say it’s their state government that’s leading the response.

The poll also shows the incredible partisan divide created by everything Trump touches. While Trump has publicly stated, again and again, that the states are on their own, they are responsible, and that he’ll just provide back up (when the governors kiss his ass), 53% of Republicans say that Trump is leading the response. A shocking 89% of Republicans say that they trust Trump to provide reliable information on the coronavirus, essentially the same percentage (90%) as trust the CDC. They’re utterly delusional. But they’re also dangerous.

If you want to really hate Republicans, look at their actions: “Democrats are still more likely than Republicans to report sheltering in place (90% vs. 74%) and stocking up on food, supplies, or medications (72% vs. 50%).” If you’re not stocking up on food and supplies and going out to get them, you’re not doing a very good job of sheltering in place. “But at least nine in ten Democrats (95%), independents (91%) and Republicans (91%) now report engaging in some form of social distancing.” Is that like how conservative evangelical churches are practicing “social distancing”? Continue reading.

Trump expertly fact-checked by CNN host for blame-shifting and lying about shortages of US pandemic supplies

AlterNet logoThe morning after Donald Trump held yet another coronavirus press conference where he said that the country is about to enter into a week with a sharp increase in COVID-19 deaths, CNN’s Victor Blackwell brutally dissected the president’s lies that the government is helpless because of a shortage of medical supplies because former President Barack Obama left the shelves bare.

Using clips of the president’s ever-evolving excuses and contradictions, the CNN host took apart Trump’s blame-spreading.

“This morning, a fact check,” the CNN host began. “Hospitals across the country are desperate to find the gowns and the gloves and the face shields. And some states have received millions of pieces of that personal protective equipment and the N95 masks from the federal government, but now President Trump says that the strategic national stockpile is nearly depleted of those supplies.” Continue reading.

New Trump video offers more spin than ‘hope’

Washington Post logo“In times of struggle we see the true greatness of the American character.”

— President Trump, quoted in his campaign’s web ad, “Hope,” released March 27, 2020

President Trump was slow to respond to the emergence of a novel coronavirus, often reassuring Americans that the situation was under control. When confirmed cases and deaths started to spike at the end of March, his presidential election campaign released a video intended to show Trump getting the job done and earning bipartisan praise.

But as always with these campaign videos, the little snippets can be misleading. So let’s deconstruct this ad. Continue reading.