"Well ackshully, 'virtually no one' is not the same as no one."
Fact check: What Trump means is that the scope of the virus can hardly be grasped. It is so dangerous and huge that it is incomprehensible.
He has also compared COVID-19 to the flu multiple times in the past (often in the context of the flu being worse), which is something that the "the pandemic is a hoax" people often peddle. He's intentionally all over the place with his messaging.
Fact check: Trump never literally said the words "COVID-19 is a hoax," so he communicated that the virus was a serious and real thing the whole time actually.
It's like when Wallace asked Biden that stupid fucking question during the debate that made no sense about trusting the science on some gotcha point that we shouldn't trust the scientists if they're being suppressed by Trump. It's normalization of Trump's bullshit nonsense rhetoric and trying to downplay him.
People shouldn't allow them to somehow take back what they said, on record. They own this shit.
On the bright side, at least with GOPs politicians getting the virus, there's a chance the party will start to take this thing a bit more seriously. I doubt it, but there's at least a chance.
On the bright side, at least with GOPs politicians getting the virus, there's a chance the party will start to take this thing a bit more seriously. I doubt it, but there's at least a chance.
This is arguing semantics.
"He never said the exact line you said he said." It's a dumb argument when you consider just how much he's thrown around the term hoax in relation to covid. This is the same bullshit Trumpsters use around the bleach and uv light comments for combating covid months ago.
"Um...he didn't say it exactly like that, meaning your argument is flawed and you're an idiot. Haha, I win!"
"He never said the exact line you said he said." It's a dumb argument when you consider just how much he's thrown around the term hoax in relation to covid. This is the same bullshit Trumpsters use around the bleach and uv light comments for combating covid months ago.
"Um...he didn't say it exactly like that, meaning your argument is flawed and you're an idiot. Haha, I win!"
Can't offer my opinion on this particular case since I haven't researched it. But the thing about Trump is, as your quintessential conman/gangster sort, if there's one thing in this world he's truly expert at it's communicating in such a way as to insulate himself behind a wall of plausible deniability. Kind of like when a Mafioso employs the old "Lovely family, would be a shame if something happened to them" shtick with a prey. "I haven't looked into it, but a lot of people are saying..." is one of his many go-to pet disclaimers just before he's about to vomit forth the latest spewing of disinformation. This way, he can duck behind his infamous plausible deniability when called on it, placing the malicious rumor in the mouths of anonymous others.
So it never surprises me whenever there is difficulty precisely nailing him for something he's said. Fortunately, due to his massive ego and smugness making him incautious, he has his lapses which then "force" him to issue a correction (although never an apology).
So it never surprises me whenever there is difficulty precisely nailing him for something he's said. Fortunately, due to his massive ego and smugness making him incautious, he has his lapses which then "force" him to issue a correction (although never an apology).
I mean, they're specifically fact checking a Biden ad that juxtaposed Trump using the word "hoax" with the private Bob Woodward audio where he admits the danger of the virus. The AP is right that this is a misleading ad, because Trump was referring to the Democrats' criticism of his response to the virus as the hoax, not the virus itself. The ad juxtaposes two comments that are referring to different things, and makes the implication that they're referring to the same thing.
In this case the ad was just poorly composed, because they could have used any number of clips where Trump directly downplays the virus and the effect would be the same. Using the "hoax" clip was a mistake.
In this case the ad was just poorly composed, because they could have used any number of clips where Trump directly downplays the virus and the effect would be the same. Using the "hoax" clip was a mistake.
Why did they all decide to fact check this right now?
Why do they seemingly ignore that all of his supporters think it's a hoax?
Why do they seemingly ignore that all of his supporters think it's a hoax?
This reads like he called it a hoax then walked it back the next day. As he's done before with countless other inflammatory statements.
This is some pedantry. We have a mountain of statements and actions over 9 months that paint what he thinks.
AP Fact Check did a shitty "gotcha" with a technicality.
"Actually, he called the Democrat response a hoax." But his dumbass supporters interpreted that as COVID-19 isn't real and Trump didn't bother to correct them.
"Actually, he called the Democrat response a hoax." But his dumbass supporters interpreted that as COVID-19 isn't real and Trump didn't bother to correct them.
This is arguing semantics, which is tiring to anybody with a lick of common sense, but is necessary from a legal point of view.
I can't really get on board with the purity testing of AP News, though. If you're painting them as the enemy because they're "propping the system up," then alright, I'm not going to waste my time arguing with that. But if you've never read AP News before and are just spouting off some knee-jerk reaction about the downfall of "lame-stream media," then you're doing more harm than good here. You should take a few days to actually browse AP News's front page to see what it's like. It is not forgiving to Trump at all.
Here's a fact check on their front page right now that basically destroys every claim Trump tried to make in the first debate. It's even co-authored by the same person who wrote the fact check from the OP:
apnews.com
I can't really get on board with the purity testing of AP News, though. If you're painting them as the enemy because they're "propping the system up," then alright, I'm not going to waste my time arguing with that. But if you've never read AP News before and are just spouting off some knee-jerk reaction about the downfall of "lame-stream media," then you're doing more harm than good here. You should take a few days to actually browse AP News's front page to see what it's like. It is not forgiving to Trump at all.
Here's a fact check on their front page right now that basically destroys every claim Trump tried to make in the first debate. It's even co-authored by the same person who wrote the fact check from the OP:
AP FACT CHECK: Distortions from a week of wild disruption
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis Friday cut short the week's political arguing and even quieted his Twitter account for a time.
apnews.com
Well you see, he never said "Sars-cov-2 is a Chinese hoax" he only said "this is a Chinese hoax" or "the Chinese hoax" and what he is referring to in those statements is clearly the Democratic response to COVID and not COVID itself.
I don't actually know if any of that is true but, considering Tump only said "this is a hoax" he instead of "COVID is a hoax" he probably never said the exact phase "the virus is a Chinese hoax" either.
The problem is Trump rattles off so much batshit insane shit that it's hard for me to ever remember specific things he said a month later unless I look them up. I know he constantly downplays the virus but it all just turns into this thick fog in my mind with everything else he has ever said.
'It’s a hoax. There's no pandemic': Trump's base stays loyal as president fights Covid
News that the president has contracted coronavirus prompted alarm and confusion among Trump supporters in Missouri
www.theguardian.com
It's not much different than Biden's explanation that he didn't call the China travel restrictions xenophobic. The media has given him a pass on that too generally taking him for his word on that.
Trump has said enough other dumb shit anyways.
Trump has said enough other dumb shit anyways.
This is arguing semantics on a quote from someone who has absolutely no sense of grammatical structure. The implication of his statement is blatantly clear.
"If you really think about it, Oskar Schindler was a member of the Nazi party and saved 1200 lives, so it's true there were very fine people on both sides." - AP Fact Check
I've been hearing tons of sympathy press even from normally liberal or progressive news outlets.
On NPR yesterday heard them talking shocked about how CRAZY our world is that some people were 'skeptical if he really had it and this isn't just a ploy to get out of the debates. They kept going with "its just super unlikely, this is really shocking, tends to be younger people, its a bit ridiculous" etc. And the entire time I was screaming in my head that the only reason there's skepticism because HE AND HIS ADMIN ARE FUCKING PATHOLOGICAL LIARS LIKE FUCK OFF.
Same with other sites, I think just to counter the general wishes of unwell to him, news media has been giving him points, and it sucks.
On NPR yesterday heard them talking shocked about how CRAZY our world is that some people were 'skeptical if he really had it and this isn't just a ploy to get out of the debates. They kept going with "its just super unlikely, this is really shocking, tends to be younger people, its a bit ridiculous" etc. And the entire time I was screaming in my head that the only reason there's skepticism because HE AND HIS ADMIN ARE FUCKING PATHOLOGICAL LIARS LIKE FUCK OFF.
Same with other sites, I think just to counter the general wishes of unwell to him, news media has been giving him points, and it sucks.
Holy shit FUCK OFF with this shit
Everyone is so desperate to not accept that Trump legit called this a hoax before hundreds of thousands of people died and then got sick himself. They just don't want to accept that reality.
Well you're reporting news, AP. Maybe don't spread "alternate facts". Assholes.
Everyone is so desperate to not accept that Trump legit called this a hoax before hundreds of thousands of people died and then got sick himself. They just don't want to accept that reality.
Well you're reporting news, AP. Maybe don't spread "alternate facts". Assholes.
Exactly. There's no nuance in public discourse anymore and it's a real fucking problem.
It's a technical distinction with no merit, and merely exposes the major flaw in these fact-checking services: their complete inability to acknowledge idiom, wider context, dogwhistles, bad faith and classical bullshitting. And in this specific case, fact-checking a strawman. No-one thinks Trump was literally saying the virus doesn't exist. Well, except his entire base but they're fuckwits.
Trump called it a hoax in context of it not being serious and deadly or it needing to be treated seriously with proper precautionary actions. He then proceeded to act exactly that way till now. The flu was worse, it will going away, no more than a few cases will happen, masks don't work and actually are worse, everything has to open up, no funding to states, LIBERATE MICHIGAN--just an endless stream of confirming his stated belief (it was a lie, he always knew it was very serious), that yes, it's a hoax to say this is serious.
All of which caused hundreds of thousands to die while millions believe it's a "hoax".
Trump called it a hoax in context of it not being serious and deadly or it needing to be treated seriously with proper precautionary actions. He then proceeded to act exactly that way till now. The flu was worse, it will going away, no more than a few cases will happen, masks don't work and actually are worse, everything has to open up, no funding to states, LIBERATE MICHIGAN--just an endless stream of confirming his stated belief (it was a lie, he always knew it was very serious), that yes, it's a hoax to say this is serious.
All of which caused hundreds of thousands to die while millions believe it's a "hoax".
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I was an esential worker during lockdown here, and got to count people coming through the front door. The very first guy I counted was a Trumper who told me angrily that this was the "greatest hoax ever perpetrated on mankind". It was not an uncommon sentiment for Trumpers, and we all know where it came from.
Par for the course be it looters or blm.
Again for some on the left. Keep trusting organizations that claim to be your ally but certainly aren't by their actions.
Well yes it's not really a single entity, it's a collection of journalists from all over. I think most know that.
Idiots I find on cnn or msnbc, doesn't inherently mean they are right.
Nor did I say they were on the left I said for some on the left, much different meaning. This is important cause the entire comment I made relies on the fact they are two faced in presenting themselves as fact checkers or moderates.
His audience heard what he meant, which is how we got things like anti lockdown and anti mask protests. There's no reason to engage in those activities if you think that the pandemic is a real and present threat to the country. The AP, for all of our sakes, needs to focus more on the whole picture.
Can't forget Trump loves to be evasive in his language. Proud boys being a perfect example. Allowing as many people, as wide of a base, to interpret it exactly as they want. Broaden his appeal. Trying to pin exactly what he said is almost irrelevant, when he still communicated what he wanted to, inciting divisiveness
By their argument what was he calling a hoax? A hoax is something you make up. Democrats saying the admin needs to take it more seriously is not a fucking hoax. This is another example of Trump skirting logic because definitions don't matter anymore, and the AP Fact check is just going along with Trump's interpretation which is just demented ranting at best.
this shitty excuse that he was calling the Democrats' response a hoax is what right wing fuckheads were saying right after and it makes NO SENSE. How can the democrats' response be a fucking hoax? What the fuck are we talking about? He was referring to the virus.
They are not wrong, all the fact-checking agencies agree. It doesn't change how disastrous his response and downplaying of the pandemic has been.
It was always my understanding that Trump misused the word hoax. I don't think he meant virus wasn't real, just that It was the Democrats could pin on him.
1. Yes, he fucked up the covid response
2. We shouldn't have to interpret or justify what the president says.
1. Yes, he fucked up the covid response
2. We shouldn't have to interpret or justify what the president says.
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edit: ^ yeah, what they said.
Democrats trying to pin the virus on Trump was the "hoax". The virus is real (though he nor his followers have ever really acted like it) but it's Chinas fault, I guess.
This reminds me of the time when Republicans went crazy over Obama's "...if you own a business, you didn't build that..." line. Why is it so hard for people to change their minds when the facts are fairly clear?
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Facts once again played around with like chess pieces. It's all a strategy to confuse the masses to the advantage of people like Trump.
Nowadays anything left of the far right, it seems like.