Posted on 07/18/2015 10:33:05 PM PDT by Kazan
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 (Two Little Devils: Factual errors, mischaracterization, misinterpretation)
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.
Audy Murphy was a war hero. Chris Kyle was a war hero. Carlos Hathcock was a war hero. Chuck Mawhinney was a war hero. With all due respect, John McCain was a POW.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/search?s=post+trump+mccain&ok=Search&q=quick&m=all&o=time
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3313701/posts
He served, he is a hero. Very dangerous ground injecting politics into this. His capture and torture by the Vietnamese is only a part of his military record. It should be enough to end any discussion. I haven’t found and listened to the original video or audio clip of Trump’s comment but this seems to suggest it was taken out of context.
Some of McCain harshest critics were fellow POW.
I think McCain didn’t get indited for Keating because he was a POW, and nobody wanted him to serve jail time after being a POW.
McCain ran a despicable primary campaign last time he ran for Senate certainly not what one would expect from an officer.
Arizona has one of the worst illegal alien problems ask Sheriff Joe if McCain’s pro amnesty campaign hurts his state.
McLame wrecked 3 planes. Spending time in any Hanoi Hilton Hotel is noteworthy. Legislaþing against the Constitution is treason.
I’m not such much caring of what he was. I care more of what he is today and I think that is what Trump was trying to say. Now he is a POS RINO that doesn’t care what is happening to this country! For example illegals and caring for vets.
Thank you. I’m tired of the word “hero” being thrown around and cheapened to the point where it becomes synonymous with “service”. Service is doing your duty, heroic is a lot more than that.
Most leftist media bias is accomplished by careful story selection and relentless spin, but sometimes only an outright lie will do the job.
It's good to hear from Sharyl.
"He's not a war hero," Trump told the crowd at the Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa. "He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren't captured."
And some fellow POW's were some of his biggest supporters in 2008. Don't get me wrong I don't like McCain's antics as a senator one bit I wish he would quit and spare the nation more damage with his rouge politics. But I'm not going to attack his service record either. One endorsement I saw on the list was a former POW whom I would trust with my life and in a sense did. It didn't change my mind about not voting for McCain I voted Independent. But it tells me the POW rumors are most likely what we called scuttlebutt. For example on one thread tonight some thought he had caused the USS Forestall Fire. Impossible. I want him out of office for his political record as a U.S. Senator.
I have witnessed, in my lifetime, the evolution of the press.
COLLUSION (Phase 1): I started by noting — even as a child — that all three national newscasts were reporting the exact same story at the exact same segment. There was clear collusion occurring, even back in the 1970’s.
OMISSION (Phase 2): The press simply refuses to cover stories that are not favorable to its agenda.
REFRAMING (Phase 3): By re-framing a larger wrong, of say, Group A to Group B, and picking out the wrong that Group B did to Group A (either in response, or micro-cosmically) they could frame an innocent group and make them look like the bad guys.
MAKING S**T UP OUTRIGHT (Phase 4): We have now arrived to Phase 4, which involves simply making s**t up out of whole cloth, and publishing it.
The latest against Trump is some Phase 4 behavior on the part of the media.
A war hero is one who performs extraordinary brave acts during a war. Audie Murphy comes to mind. Any soldier who dives on a hand grenade to save his comrades is a war hero.
McCain was a 3rd rate inept pilot who crashed a bunch of expensive planes, did not know how to evade SAM’s in Vietnam and was shot down. He finished at absolute bottom of his war college class. He is a bumbler, not a war hero.
Oh yeah? Are you mad because Trump is way ahead of your candidate in 3 short weeks? Have you heard the term “sour grapes”?
Actual video of Trump’s comments is here:
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/gop-primaries/248431-trump-clarifies-attacks-on-mccain
It is obvious the RINO’s and MSM loves to quote Trump out of context.
And she won’t note that Fox News also quoted Trump saying McCain was not a hero He’s not a war hero,” Trump said at the 4th annual Family Leadership Summit in Iowa today. “He’s a war hero ‘cause he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured.” http://insider.foxnews.com/2015/07/18/donald-trump-slams-john-mccain-gop-candidates-respond
George "Bud" Day and Orson Swindle, fellow POWs, told PolitiFact that POWs sometimes were forced to talk when they were tortured, but they tried to tell lies to mislead their captors.
"We were all tortured and we wrote confessions under the pressure of torture," said Swindle, who was a cellmate with McCain and is active in his campaign. "John McCain never collaborated with the enemy. He, like every one of us, submitted to severe torture. John McCain did nothing dishonorable. He was heroic."
[...]
[On the original fliers slandering McCain:]
Day, a Medal of Honor winner who also is supporting McCain's campaign, said the flyer is "the most outrageous f------ lie I've ever heard."
So any "who serve" are automatically Heroes?
>>>Donald Trump Attacks John McCain’s Vietnam War Service<<<
That headline doesn’t fit the Reality of what Trump said about McCain.
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