Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 09:56 pm
President Trump tried to scare the American people into obeying him by uttering a completely false claim that the press is not reporting on terrorist attacks.
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While speaking at Centcom, President Trump said, “Isis is on a campaign of genocide, committing atrocities across the world. Radical Islamic terrorists are determined to strike our homeland as they did on 9/11, as they did from Boston to Orlando to San Bernardino, and all across Europe. You have seen what happened in Paris and nice. All over Europe, it’s happening. It’s gotten to a point where it’s not even being reported. And in many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesn’t want to report it. They have their reasons, and you understand that. So today we deliver a message in one very unified voice to these forces of death and destruction — America and its allies will defeat you. We will defeat them. We will defeat radical Islamic terrorism. And we will not allow to it take root in our country. Not going to allow it.”
There were several false statements in the President’s remarks. None of the people who carried out the terrorist attacks that Trump referred came from countries that are on his Muslim ban. Secondly, there is zero evidence that the media is not reporting terrorist attacks. A 2015 study concluded that media coverage of terrorism can inspire more violence.
President Trump wants to govern through a culture of fear. Trump want to instill a fear of terrorism and immigrants with the intention of driving the American people to support him. Donald Trump apparently yearns to be the Bush administration immediately after 9/11. Trump’s authoritarian playbook wants to keep people frightened.
The President provided no evidence for his claim because the claim itself was an emotional tactic that was intended to scare people. Fear not fact is the primary motivation of the Trump administration.
Donald Trump has no proof, and if recent history is any indication (Trump voter fraud claims), he will offer none.
Trump is trying to scare America into loving him with false claims. The protests are working. Trump is so desperate to be loved that he is making up stories just to manipulate the emotions of the American people.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
