Posted on 11/24/2015 1:25:42 PM PST by SeekAndFind
There's a difference between a lie and an honest mistake. However slight, it's a crucial distinction in politics, and especially in the campaign of Donald Trump.
On Saturday, the real-estate magnate insisted that after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, he watched news footage of "thousands of thousands of people" celebrating in northern New Jersey -- "where you have large Arab populations," in his words.
Journalists have searched news archives for any evidence of such footage and turned up empty handed. Public officials and law enforcement in New Jersey say Trump's account is utterly false.
But Trump's assertion might not be a bald-faced lie. Psychologists suggest that people unconsciously fabricate memories all the time, and that Trump might have done the same.
"I can't say that he's not lying," said Deryn Strange, a psychologist at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. "But my research, and the research of my colleagues, certainly supports a more charitable interpretation: that this is a false memory."
There is a well-circulated video clip of Palestinians celebrating the attacks in the West Bank, as The Washington Post's Glenn Kessler has reported. Newspapers, including The Post, stated that police had detained some people in northern New Jersey who were allegedly partying on rooftops and watching the mayhem in New York. The Newark Star-Ledger later reported that “rumors of rooftop celebrations of the attack by Muslims here proved unfounded."
Trump might have conflated the two in his mind. "I can easily conceive how he could have developed this memory," Strange said. "All you need is a suggestion."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Perhaps Trump is confusing this news story with another video that was circulated showing some Arabs celebrating in Palestine,
Do these idiots in the MSM really believe that we have no memory whatsoever? TV news, newspapers and anecdotes from around the country support Trump’s claim that Muslims all over the US celebrated after 9/11. Hell, even Muslim women in the FBI’s Translation Unit brought treats to work after 9/11:
http://archive.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=14210
“Nah, nothing to see here, folks, just move along...”
Yes, you’re right; however there are still many of us, who are still alive and were adults on 9/11, whose memories are just fine, so they can’t pull the wool over our eyes. Neither can they shut us up......yet.
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-03-14-anthrax-cleanup_x.htm
The building was cleaned up, it is on the corner in Rt 130 and the home depot in Hamilton NJ, it is still there and still a post office
After 9/11 there were magazine cover stories about muslim extremism. One article had lots of pictures of muslim kids with guns in their hands and fake suicide vests. This was an extensive article with many pictures.
There have been many muslim terrorist attacks since 9/11 which are all part of this terrorist world war but the media tries to keep them as separate events as if they are not all connected. I remember the attack on the Beslan schools where 300 people were killed about 180 of them were children. I also remember the Mumbai attack a few years after which was a spectacle that went on for days, yet it is not discussed. They (media) don’t want us to see the whole picture. They want us to forget the horror of the last attack as soon as it happens. They want to talk about individual terrorist groups as if they are not connected but they are all part of the global Islamic jihad. Officialdom and their lapdog media all want it to all go away.
Well, the WaPo has changed hands since then, and I assume that the editors changed as well. BUT as Ann Coulter once quipped, “To a liberal, history began at breakfast this morning.”.....................
Thanks for the correction.
I used to eat lunch every day at a little strip mall in Willingboro, right next to one of those rainbow “Welcome to Willingboro” signs.
That was back in the 1980s. A better time, in many ways. Even though I was lonely and poor.
Me too. I remember it and will NEVER forget it............................
Michael Medved reported on Somalis in Seattle celebrating
100 pct correct and i love that dt is exposing this!!!
I’ve lived in the area my entire life (NYC and Jersey), and I never once saw that coverage, whether on TV or in the NY Post.
In any event, my intent is not to criticize Trump for this, and I’m not saying he lied. I don’t think the videos are out there (if they were, they would have surfaced by now, instead of just a lot of people saying “I remember that!”), but I believe he honestly remembers seeing them—again, it’s how the memory works.
I too saw Arabs on our shores on 9/11 celebrating and several were interviewed and were very happy with the attack.
Cable news will run endless video loops of footage that supports whatever story they’re telling at the moment.
Example: Currently they run footage of Syrian refugees swarming Europe during a story about them coming to the US.
I remember the TV news reports, and a lot of other people do too, but I don't recall any video of celebrations in New Jersey, though there was plenty from overseas. It would have been easy to get the location mixed up, given what the networks were saying and showing.
As to whether it happened or not, that's harder to say. You can't prove a negative and there are people in Paterson, who claim to have seen such celebrations, not large scale and not likely to attrack major attention, but still happening.
It's like people telling you that no Vietnam veteran was ever spat on. Not one? Not ever? When people remember incidents clearly? It's may be be hard to prove it happened, but it's impossible to prove it never happened.
If this wasn't a "gaffe" it's brilliant on Trump's part, making the media who attack him the guilty partner responsible for comments that they usually object to.
I’m no Trump fan, but you know what? I really don’t care if the Muslims were celebrating in Gaza and Trump confused it with New Jersey. That’s splitting hairs, let’s focus on the more important fact that MUSLIMS WERE CELEBRATING 9/11!
There were no arrests made because cheering is not a crime.
I live in NJ and KNOW this took place in JC and in Patterson NJ.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.