[Above image: Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump at the 2015 Conservative Political Action Conference]
Donald Trump appears to have gotten under the skin of not only Democrats, but also fellow Republicans and the news media. Has that subjected Trump, a Republican presidential candidate, to unfair and/or inaccurate reporting?
An article in the Washington Post today is headlined, “Trump slams McCain for being ‘captured’ in Vietnam.”
The article’s lead sentence states, “Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump slammed Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a decorated Vietnam War veteran, on Saturday by saying McCain was not a war hero because he was captured by the North Vietnamese [emphasis added].”
Is this report accurate?
In fact, Trump’s actual quote is the opposite of what is presented in the Post’s first sentence.
Discussion
1. The Post did not provide context at the outset disclosing that McCain and Trump have been feuding, with McCain characterizing some Trump supporters as “crazies” and Trump stating that McCain graduated last in his class in Annapolis. The charged rhetoric continued at the conservative Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa this weekend.
2. When a panelist characterized McCain as a “war hero,” the Post is accurate in reporting that Trump initially said McCain is “not a war hero.” But then, Trump immediately modified his statement saying– four times– that McCain is a war hero:
“He is a war hero.”
“He’s a war hero because he was captured.”
“He’s a war hero, because he was captured.”
“I believe, perhaps, he’s a war hero. But right now, he’s said some very bad things about a lot of people.”
3. Did Trump say McCain is not a war hero because he was captured? No, not in the exchanges represented in the Post.
4. Is the Post’s characterization an accident? It would appear not, because it is repeated in the Post’s caption of the video clip, which also states: “Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a decorated Vietnam war veteran, was not a war hero because he was captured by the North Vietnamese [emphasis added].”
Further, in the Post’s second sentence, Trump is quoted as stating of McCain, “He’s not a war hero…He’s a war hero because he was captured,” but the article selectively left out the phrase Trump had uttered in between: “He is a war hero.”
Conclusion
Trump actually said the opposite of what the Post lead sentence and video caption claim. The Post might have been able to get away stating that Trump “implied” McCain was not a war hero because McCain was captured, but even that would have been a subjective interpretation since Trump had actually stated the opposite.
It’s true that Trump stated one time that McCain is not a war hero. But Trump stated four times that McCain is a war hero–and that was not accurately characterized in the article.
For interpreting and characterizing Trump’s true quote in a way that is at best questionable, and for selectively using some quotes and leaving others out, the Post receives Two Little Devils. (Ratings scale at end of article.)
Obviously, all are free to draw conclusions about any candidate or politician. But the news media has a responsibility to do its best to report accurately and fairly–even when reporters find a candidate and/or his positions to be personally distasteful.
More information
Read the Washington Post article and watch the Donald Trump C-SPAN video excerpt:
Other Fact Checks
https://sharylattkisson.com/fact-check-washington-posts-alyssa-rosenbergs-errors/
https://sharylattkisson.com/fact-check-slate-com-vaccines-autism-claims/
Amazing Story…Very inspiring !!
Trump said McCain was not a war hero but was a hero be a use he was captured. That is truth. I have not found one report of McCain doing anything heroic in battle. In fact, his egocentric hotdogging on an air raft carrier started a fire that cost 150 servicemen their lives. His Admiral daddy had him pulled off the ship the ship the next day.
If McCain hadn’t been captured, we’d likely never have heard his name. There are even questions about why his plane was hit. One report says he was disobeying orders and flying at lower altitude than others in his group, exposing himself to enemy fire. None of the other planes were hit. This would be in keeping with his well known propensity for rulebreaking.
Again, Trump was correct in saying that McCain is not a war hero. He did nothing outstandingly courageous in battle. He is a “hero” only on the basis of his captivity and he may have brought that on himself.
“The Don” has a mouth that runeth over…… He knows how to stir up the anger.
He is not presidential material if he can’t show diplomatic skill. Calling a hero
stupid does not cut it with me ever. God Bless America and all Military people that
have fought to keep our country free and continue to.
Marsha Solomon
This interpretation of Trump’s comments about Senator McCain’s war record is no better than the Post’s. It is clear from the video that Trump did not call McCain a war hero. Each of those statements was a parenthetical attached to some qualifier like “perhaps.” It was clear beyond doubt that Trump was being dismissive of McCain’s shoot down, capture, torture and 5+ years of prisoner of war time. Trump made it sound like McCain got drunk and wandered off post into an enemy patrol. The worst part of this mis-analysis is that it gave Trump cover to deny saying exactly what he said.
The issue is not Trump vs McCain but Trump vs the GOP – and eventually Hillary Clinton
Ms Atkinson has proven the MSM are liars. Be still my beating heart.
Regardless, can somebody explain why going into or surviving a POW camp makes one a “hero”?
Thank you for your service John McCain but you had your chance and screwed it up. You were a poor presidential candidate. Please shut up and support whomever the GOP candidate will be and if that is Trump than so be it.
https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/jul/19/donald-trump/trump-i-called-mccain-hero-four-times/
Frankly whether McCain is a war hero or not is something that shouldn’t even be a concern now. It’s something that happened 40 years ago. What should be talked about is his record of the past 10 – 15 years as a Senator. He represents AZ, a state that has been inundated with illegal aliens and it’s still an open border. If someone cannot build a fence in 16 years (Bush + Obama), then his abilities as a Senator are questionable. For me he’s been in the Senate so long, he is part of the problem, not the solution.
Sharyl, you seem to be hiding behind your words in this article. do you have a real point to make that you’re afraid of making? other than “bad bad The Post.. two little devils for you..” ??? this article is transparent in every little organized outline way. why the undertones? come out with it. in the same breath as any of your points, you’re inconspicuously degrading Donald Trump and throwing The Post under the bus while doing it.. not to mention highlighting John McCain’s shortcomings. but the distortion is hidden enough to salvage good standing by all three sides of this slinging of words. we all know what Donald Trump means.. and we probably all agree with him. We are lucky to have a good, smart, successful man of good morals, because I think we would all agree we can see through anything he says straight into a very genuine and very good heart. AND, we all know that veterans are are not called heroes only when they get captured and released. They’re all heroes for signing up. In fact, I would say those who did not get captured are more the heroes cause they were just better of course cause they didn’t get captured, hello? As for me, I give my “hero” vote to someone who sought to accomplished what was set out to be accomplished and last I checked, war involves killing… either that or those guns are used for something else. but back to my point.. this cleverly pulls the wool over eyes of whoever falls for this self-proclaimed fact-check. so, nice try. next time do yourself and keep your undertones and winking devils to yourself and say what you really feel.
I apologize for saying John McCain’s shortcomings, that what NOT supposed to be there. I meant John McCains service.
my comment was posted! well, given that, let me make sure my point was made. Any human who lives by the gun is a hero only as much as the gun is his sovereign accommodation. cause God forbid a man die. and anyway, what would a man be without a gun? something short of a man I suppose.