In a statement that echoes Ronald Reagan's famous remark about liberals, "the trouble with our liberal friends is not that theyre ignorant; its just that they know so much that isnt so," it seems that today's media, often accused of partisan bias, is afflicted with both ignorance and misinformation.
According to Mediaite, the recent debate performance by former President Donald Trump was riddled with inaccuracies, exaggerations, and outright falsehoods. One of his most outrageous claims was, In Springfield, theyre eating the dogs. The people that came in. Theyre eating the cats. Theyre eating theyre eating the pets of the people that live there. This statement was widely criticized as an embarrassing spectacle.
However, the media's eagerness to discredit Trump led to some outlets overstating their case, resulting in their own embarrassment. During the debate, Trump criticized Vice President Kamala Harris for her radical 2020 presidential campaign, stating, She did things that nobody would ever think of. Now she wants to do transgender operations on illegal aliens that are in prison. This is a radical left liberal that would do this.
This statement triggered an immediate response from various media outlets. BET News Marc Lamont Hill described it as the WILDEST thing Ive ever heard in any debate. EVER. Adrian Carrasquillo shared a screenshot of a fictional right-wing news channel with the headline Gender Fluid Illegals May Be Entering The Country Twice.' Susan Glasser from The New Yorker commented on Trumps claim about Harris, stating, What the hell was he talking about? No one knows, which was, of course, exactly Harriss point.
However, the mockery of Trump's claim overlooks the fact that he was correct. A recent report by CNNs Andrew Kaczynski revealed that Harris had indeed endorsed taxpayer-funded gender transition surgeries for detained illegal immigrants and federal prisoners. This was in response to a questionnaire from the American Civil Liberties Union. Harris stated, Yes, when asked if she would use executive authority to ensure that transgender and non-binary people who rely on the state for medical care including those in prison and immigration detention will have access to comprehensive treatment associated with gender transition, including all necessary surgical care.
Harris further elaborated on her stance, stating, It is important that transgender individuals who rely on the state for care receive the treatment they need, which includes access to treatment associated with gender transition. She also mentioned her efforts as Attorney General to push the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to provide gender transition surgery to state inmates.
CNNs Erin Burnett expressed surprise at Harris's stance, stating, these are things that, you know, it would be hard to think that you would come up with. It's worth noting that it was Harris, not Trump, who proposed and supported this idea.
Despite the evidence, some media outlets have failed to correct their initial misinterpretations of Trump's statement. This lack of correction, despite being pointed out by numerous online users, represents a significant ethical failure.
However, some media outlets have shown a degree of accountability. For instance, The New York Times removed the word falsely, from its report and added a correction. Yet, the article still presents Trumps claim as baseless, stating, The former President repeated a baseless Internet rumor that migrant invaders were killing and eating pet dogs and cats in Springfield, Ohio, and claimed that Harris wants to do transgender operations on illegal aliens in prison.'
The persistent portrayal of Trumps claim as absurd, despite evidence to the contrary, suggests an intention to deceive. The only consolation is that in their clumsy attempts to defend Harris, these outlets have only highlighted her radical approach.
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