Misinformation & Disinformation in Politics and Media
“He [Georgia Governor Brian Kemp] has been calling the president, but has not been able to get him.”
“He [President Biden] just said, ‘Hey, what do you need?’”
“And I told him, you know, we got what we need. We will work through the federal process.” Kemp said Biden told him to call directly if he needed any additional resources.
“That’s a big one. And the devastation wrought by this storm is incredible. It’s so extensive, nobody thought this would be happening, especially now it’s so late in the season for the hurricanes.”
“The months of August, September, and October have significantly more hurricane activity than other months. During these months, particularly in September, ocean waters have reached their highest temperatures.”
Which Month Is the Worst for Atlantic Hurricanes?, Arnold & Itkin Law Firm
“In Springfield, [Ohio] they’re [immigrants] eating the dogs. The people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating… they’re eating the pets of the people that live there. This is what’s happening in our country, and it’s a shame.”
Donald Trump, Presidential Debate, 9/10/2024
“It is disappointing that some of the narrative surrounding our city has been skewed by misinformation circulating on social media and further amplified political rhetoric in the current highly charged presidential election cycle.”
“His candidacy has inspired millions and millions of Americans raise critical issues that have been too long ignored in this country and brought together people from across the political spectrum in a positive campaign grounded in the American values of his father, Robert Kennedy, a great man. And his uncle, President John F. Kennedy. And I know that they are looking down right now and they are very, very proud of Bobby. I’m proud of Bobby, you wanna know the truth?”
Donald Trump, August 23, 2024, after RFK Jr. suspends his campaign and endorses Trump.
“Don’t waste any Republican or Conservative votes on Junior.’ He’s one of the most Liberal Lunatics ever to run for office. He caused massive high energy pricing in New York and New England. He just admitted that he was actually OK with the Vaccine. A Phony Radical Left fool whose poll numbers are TERRIBLE, and getting worse.”
Donald Trump, May 25, 2024 Truth Social post.
Five people died in the Jan. 6, 2021 riot and its immediate aftermath. One pro-Trump rioter, Ashli Babbitt, was shot and killed by police as she climbed through a broken part of a Capitol door into an area where members of Congress were sheltering from the rioters.
More importantly, Brian Sicknick, a police officer who died the day after battling the rioters, and four additional officers who responded to the riot killed themselves in the following weeks and months.
It should also be noted that Trump previously referred to Ashli Babbitt’s death on January 6th but apparently forgot that fact during his gaslighting efforts at his August 8, 2024 news conference.
“What are the chances that Crooked Joe Biden, the WORST President in the history of the U.S., whose Presidency was Unconstitutionally STOLEN from him by Kamabla, Barrack HUSSEIN Obama, Crazy Nancy Pelosi, Shifty Adam Schiff, Cryin’ Chuck Schumer, and others on the Lunatic Left, CRASHES the Democrat National Convention and tries to take back the Nomination, beginning with challenging me to another DEBATE. He feels that he made a historically tragic mistake by handing over the U.S. Presidency, a COUP, to the people in the World he most hates, and he wants it back, NOW!!!”
Donald Trump is either becoming more senile and rambling incoherently or he believes his followers will believe anything he says, even stupid, incoherent and childish statements that have no basis in fact.
It is embarrassing that one of the candidates for President of the United States makes such inane statements.
“J.D. is a strong supporter of President Trump, and his rapid rise in the polls is scaring the same pro-China, globalist D.C. establishment that spent millions of dollars attacking President Trump in 2016, because they’re terrified of someone who stands with Trump and working-class Americans on tariffs and a pro-America trade policy getting elected to the U.S. Senate.”
“I think that I’m going to vote third party because I can’t stomach Trump. I think that he’s noxious and is leading the white working class to a very dark place.”
J.D. Vance, in an interview with NPR’s Terry Gross, August 2016
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“Mr. Trump is unfit for our nation’s highest office.”
J.D. Vance, in an April 2016 Op-Ed for The New York Times
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“My god what an idiot”
J.D. Vance, referring to Donald Trump in 2016 (the tweet has been deleted).
“I’ll start by making one thing perfectly clear: Donald Trump has my strong endorsement, period.”
Nikki Haley speech at the RNC, where she endorsed Donald Trump for President, 7/16/2024.
“The problem now is he [Trump] is not the same person he was in 2016. He is unhinged. He is more diminished than he was.”
Nikki Haley, NBC Today interview, 2/14/2024
“They’re saying he [Trump] got confused, that he was talking about something else, he’s talking about Nancy Pelosi. The concern I have is — I’m not saying anything derogatory — but when you’re dealing with the pressures of the presidency, we can’t have someone else that we question whether they’re mentally fit to do this.”
“He [Trump] showed that with that kind of disrespect for the military, he’s not qualified to be the president of the United States, because I don’t trust him to protect them.”
“When he stood up after being shot in the face, bloodied, and put his hand up, I thought, at that moment, that was a transformation. This was no longer a man…. I think it was divine intervention.”
“A leader is the bravest man. That’s who the leader is. That is true in all human organizations. This is a law of nature. And in that moment, Donald Trump, months before the presidential election, became the leader of this nation.”
Tucker Carlson, describing Donald Trump during his speech at the 2024 RNC, July 18, 2024.
“What he’s [Trump] good at is destroying things. He’s the undisputed world champion of that. He could easily destroy us if we play it wrong.”
“I hate him [Trump] passionately.” We’re all pretending we’ve got a lot to show for it [the Trump Presidency], because admitting what a disaster it’s been is too tough to digest. But come on. There really isn’t an upside to Trump.”
“He’s [Trump] a demonic force, a destroyer.”
Tucker Carlson 1/4/2021 email to a colleague summarizing his views on Donald Trump.
Taking a page from Ted Cruz, who flew to Cancun for a family vacation in Mexico just as his state was hit with massive power and heat outages from a winter storm in 2021, Governor Abbott left Texas for a trip to Asia on Friday July 5th, just three days before Category 1 Hurricane Beryl made landfall on the Texas coast. However, as the true leader and strategic thinker that Governor Abbott is, on the day he left for his trip, Texas issued disaster declarations for 40 counties across the state and left Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in charge of the impending natural disaster.
“Our hearts grieve for all Texans impacted by Hurricane Beryl, including our fellow Texans who tragically lost their lives or were injured,” said Governor Abbott. “I remain in regular contact with Acting Governor Dan Patrick and Chief Nim Kidd regarding the state’s ongoing response to Hurricane Beryl and recovery efforts in impacted parts of Texas. We also will continue to stay in contact with electrical providers about the necessity to quickly restore power. The safety of Texans remains our No. 1 priority, and I urge everyone across the state to continue to heed the guidance of local officials as severe weather threats persist in the coming days. We will remain engaged around the clock until every Texan recovers.”
“If his first priority was being Governor of Texas, he would be here during a Category One hurricane in the largest city in the state, but his ambition seems to be national and global. He wants to be on the world stage right now.”
“The Governor’s traveling schedule is determined far, far in advance, and, ultimately, these are decisions that need to be made within his administration at a given point in time. The State has had a lot of issues over the last number of years dealing with natural disasters, and I think the voters are concerned. So, when an elected official and the leader of the state is out of the state when an impending tropical storm is bearing down on one of the largest cities, it’s reasonable for voters to ask where he is.”
Joshua Blank, Research Director at the Texas Politics Project
Under President Trump, the U.S. became the Number One Producer of Oil and Natural Gas in the World — and we will soon be again by lifting restrictions on American Energy Production and terminating the Socialist Green New Deal. Republicans will unleash Energy Production from all sources, including nuclear, to immediately slash Inflation and power American homes, cars, and factories with reliable, abundant, and affordable Energy.
Read the document here: 2024 Republican Party Platform
The United States is already the number one producer of oil and natural gas in the world.
Since 2018, the United States has produced more crude oil than every other country.
In 2023, the United States was also the largest producer of natural gas in the world, producing over twice the amount of natural gas than Russia, the second leading producer.
While the Republican Platform mentions production from “all [energy] sources” once, it conveniently excludes two popular renewable sources, solar and wind, presumably because it does not fit into their narrative of “drill baby drill.”
“You look at our airports where flights are being delayed four days where people are pitching tents in an airport because their flight is so, you know, it’s never gonna even happen.”
“We’ve never seen anything like it. And we’ve become like, you know, we, we are a failing nation where we’ve become a third world nation in many ways. Our elections are third world in my opinion.
“Our airports are being run so badly, it’s so badly. It’s not even conceivable. The other night I had somebody going to the airport and they called up two days later to tell me that they’ve never gotten out. I said, ‘but where are you still at the airport?’ This is common now.”
It’s hard to believe that any serious person, let alone a candidate for President of the United States, would make such ridiculous claims.
For the record:
According to the Transportation Security Administration, 2023 was also the busiest year for air travel ever.
“We had the greatest economy in history. And Moody’s acknowledges that.”
Donald Trump, referring to the state of the US economy during his term, in one of many misstatements made during his interview with Time, published in April 2024.
Moody’s did not say Trump “had the greatest economy in history.” In Oct. 2019, the company’s modeling predicted that Trump would win in 2020 if the economy held up.
Time’s fact checking article of Trump’s statements during his April 2024 interview, noting over 30 misleading, incorrect or totally false claims made by Trump.
“She [Clinton] shouldn’t be allowed to run…If she were to win, it would create an unprecedented constitutional crisis. In that situation, we could very well have a sitting president under felony indictment and, ultimately, a criminal trial. It would grind government to a halt.”
A Manhattan jury found Donald Trump guilty of all 34 counts of falsifying business records in his hush money criminal trial, an unprecedented and historic verdict that makes him the first former president in US history to be convicted of a felony.
5/30/2024
“But when you look at what happened, the extent the prosecution had to go through to line up the dominos to bring a conviction on charges that had never been brought against anybody in the state of NY, ever. I mean, Representative Schiff said the judge should impose the penalty as any other case like this would be imposed. It has never happened before. It has never even happened.”
Gov. Chris Sununu, CNN State of the Union, 6/2/2024, misinforming viewers into thinking the case against Trump for falsifying business records in New York City had never been brought against anyone before Trump.
See Survey of Past New York Felony Prosecutions for Falsifying Business Records in JustSecurity.org, which summarizes the numerous past felony charges in NYC for falsifying business records.
The new Republicans never let the facts get in the way of a good misinformation effort.