The Media Cries Wolf on Trump—Again

So have you heard about how Trump said all illegal aliens were animals? It was reported by many sources including the New York Times. The problem? Trump wasn’t referring to all illegal immigrants, he was referring specifically to members of the brutal gang MS-13:

 Rather, he referred to members of the murderous gang, MS-13, as “animals” after a questioner brought the outfit up by name. That he was responding to the question, not riffing on illegal immigrants in general, is extremely obvious to anyone who has watched the full footage of the exchange, which, presumably, is why every single news story that suggests otherwise features a truncated clip or transcript that edits the questioner out. Here, from CSPAN, is a good example of the trick.

First of all, let me be clear that as a Christian that I believe God’s grace and forgiveness is available to anyone, including gang members and terrorists. As the old hymn says, “His Grace can set the vilest sinner free. ” So I don’t agree with the use of the term “animals.” That said, they are dangerous people who do horrible things, who our government needs to protect us from, so I understand why Trump said what he did.  To suggest he was making a statement about all illegals is a stretch. (And as an aside, CSPAN is doing this sort of garbage. Really?)

Trump isn’t above a bit of race-baiting and he should be called on it when he does that, but he clearly wasn’t doing that here.  The media not only lied, but stories like this are why many conservatives will shrug off reports with legitimate news of Trump making racially charged statements.

I’ve called Trump out when he’s tried to undermine the free and Independent press, but the media needs  to take responsibility for undermining confidence in their own reporting through cheap stunts like this.