It all started with a tweet from Bloomberg reporter Jennifer Jacobs, who was traveling as part of the press pool on Air Force One today as President Trump headed for a speech in Missouri.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah held a mid-flight briefing, and was asked by an unnamed reporter if the president thinks “Muslims are a threat to the US?”
Ms. Jacobs tweeted his response.
Q: Does Trump’s think Muslims are a threat to the US?
"The president has addressed these issues with the travel order,” deputy press sec Raj Shah tells press on AF1.
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) November 29, 2017
Which led to a string of righteously indignant tweets from fellow members of the press. Such as uber-liberal podcaster Tommy Vietor.
Holy shit this answer is bad. Tells the entire muslim world we think they're our enemy. It alienates allies and makes us less safe, and I would include it in the lawsuit against Trump's muslim ban. https://t.co/i0lUrejNah
— Tommy Vietor (@TVietor08) November 29, 2017
And even conservative media got in on the action (Feldscher write for the Washington Examiner).
Well, that's game over for every court argument about the travel ban, right? https://t.co/5h9ps1r3JY
— Kyle "Please Mute Your Line" Feldscher (@Kyle_Feldscher) November 29, 2017
Just one problem … Jacobs only reported part of Shah’s quote. When taken in full, it completely changes the meaning. Feldscher was one of the few reporters who actually admitted his mistake.
So, here's the full quote when @RajShah45 was asked if Trump sees Muslims as a threat to the U.S.
"No, look, the president has addressed these issues with the travel order and he issued earlier this year, and the companion proclamation." https://t.co/COSA6jQhzq
— Kyle "Please Mute Your Line" Feldscher (@Kyle_Feldscher) November 29, 2017
He even took it a step further, admitting that he – and many in his profession – had royally screwed up by not quoting Raj Shah correctly.
So, I'm going to back off my initial read of that quote because it was a partial quote tweeted out by a bunch of reporters.
Media really dropped the ball there. Allowed a narrative to form before we had full context. That's a screw up.
— Kyle "Please Mute Your Line" Feldscher (@Kyle_Feldscher) November 29, 2017
This earned him a hearty thank you from the White House.
Thank you @Kyle_Feldscher for correcting. https://t.co/xGQCsbFN3a
— Kayleigh McEnany (@PressSec) November 29, 2017
But the story gets better from here. The geniuses at MSNBC rushed the misinformation onto the air, then doubled down on their bumbling ways by putting up a photo of the WRONG Raj Shah. Turns out, a man by the same name worked for President Obama.
MSNBC's @chucktodd afternoon Meet the Press doing panel on Trump "racism," and "anti-Muslim" tweets and quotes @RajShah45 off AF One with a picture…but it's not Raj, an Obama era Raj Shah. No, people don't look alike guys…
— Paul Bedard (@SecretsBedard) November 29, 2017
It’s okay to laugh. It is MSNBC, after all.
Another day, another nail in the coffin of the mainstream media.
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