- Mainstream media in the Trump era twisted every statement in order to rate it a ‘lie’ even when, as is true here, it’s self-evident from the video
- Politifact tries to split hairs by saying Trump didn’t provide full context, making his statement a lie. But Trump’s statement is true in every context.
- Media malpractice around Rittenhouse shooting case was legendary, this kind of trash reporting and fact-checking by BeMiller contributed to the case’s media hysterics.
OUR RATING: #FakeNews. This is what you’d expect on CNN playing to an empty airport.
Indicted Outlet: Haley BeMiller | Politifact | Link | Archive | 9/1/20
BeMiller rates Trump as ‘false’ and lying because he accurately described the events of August 25, 2020 when Kyle Rittenhouse shot three people, killing two of them, in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The media quickly took the side of the pro-BLM protesters, and decided to Nicholas Sandmann the defendant Kyle Rittenhouse.
Major Violations:
- Lying
- Major Misinterpretation of Source Material
- Misrepresentation
Here’s the main argument by BeMiller as she declares Trump false:
In an Aug. 31, 2020 media briefing, on the eve of his visit to Kenosha, Trump defended Rittenhouse’s actions when asked about the teenager.
“You saw the same tape as I saw,” Trump said. “And he was trying to get away from them, I guess; it looks like. And he fell, and then they very violently attacked him. And it was something that we’re looking at right now and it’s under investigation.”
He went on to say of Rittenhouse: “I guess he was in very big trouble. He would have been — I — he probably would have been killed.”
The president correctly describes some minor details about that night. But overall, his comments grossly mischaracterize what happened — leaving out that by the time of the events he described, prosecutors say Rittenhouse had already shot and killed a man.
So her point seems to be that President Trump wasn’t wrong about what he said per se, but because he left out the fact Rittenhouse had shot Joseph Rosenbaum earlier, it is missing context.
There are really only three factual claims made by Trump here:
1] “he was trying to get away from them, I guess; it looks like.”
2] “And he fell, and then they very violently attacked him.”
3] “he probably would have been killed.”
These are the three things claimed by Trump. Politifact rates this statement as ‘false’ and Trump painting a “false picture” because it doesn’t reference the death of Rosenbaum. But Rosenbaum’s death isn’t relevant to the accuracy of what is being said. It doesn’t change the nature of the video or the question of Rittenhouse’s guilt or innocence.