The fake news media strikes again!
If all you watched was CNN, you'd believe that President Trump and his supporters are against science and the "truth."
But the actual truth… isn't that simple.
When asked about reopening schools, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany clearly suggested that the science SUPPORTS reopening the schools.
But Jim Acosta tweeted McEnany out of context, only taking the first sentence of her answer.
"The science should not stand in the way of this."
McEnany's out of context quote drew criticism from the far left, further cementing their (wrong) viewpoint that Republicans are against facts and science.
In full context, however, McEnany's answer was much more nuanced:
The science should not stand in the way of this, but as Dr. Scott Atlas said — I thought this was a good quote, 'Of course, we can do it. Everyone else in the Western world, our peer nations are doing it. We are the outlier here.
The science is very clear on this. For example, you look at the JAMA pediatric study of 46 pediatric hospitals in North America that said the risk of critical illness from COVID is far less for children than the seasonal flu. The science is on our side here. We encourage localities and states to just simply follow the science. Open our schools.
Makes sense, right?
Well, look at how CNN's Jim Acosta chose to tweet it.
Acosta's tweet has been re-tweeted 40,000 times.
Fortunately, the Trump campaign responded directly to Acosta's tweet with the TRUTH!
Now, CNN and Jim Acosta are being criticized for misrepresenting the White House press secretary.
The problem is that most Americans don't watch these press briefings.
They're too busy working and taking care of their family.
They rely on journalists to bring them the news... but as this case shows, the news doesn't always show the full truth.
Fox News reports on Acosta's tweet and the backlash he received:
However, Acosta tweeted about what McEnany said by suggesting she was anti-science.
"The White House Press Secretary on Trump's push to reopen schools: 'The science should not stand in the way of this,'" the liberal reporter tweeted.
Acosta later added, "McEnany went on to say 'the science is on our side here.'"
However, his first tweet went on to get 30,000 retweets while his follow-up tweet that provided the much-needed context received less than 700. Among those who shared the out-of-context week were Democratic lawmakers Rep. Jerry Nadler and Rep. David Cicilline, as well as several of his CNN colleagues.
CNN's chief White House correspondent was hit with major backlash.
"Classic stuff here. Acosta tweets half of one quote without context & gets nearly 20,000 retweets. Had plenty of room to add the full context in the original comment by McEnany stating “the science is on our side here.” Waits 10 minutes before writing a second tweet, gets 450 RTs," The Hill media reporter Joe Concha wrote.
"This isn’t journalism. It’s a dishonest fragment used to whip up animosity, rather than inform," Daily Caller editor Vince Coglianese tweeted.
"Why are you misleading your followers?" Reagan Battalion asked
Even Acosta's own colleague Jake Tapper weighed in on the distorted quote that was being shared, urging everyone to "read the ENTIRE McEnany comment."
"I'm not taking a position on the matter but be fair," the CNN anchor wrote.
Acosta wasn't the only journalist who shared the incomplete quote from the White House press secretary. CBS White House correspondent Weijia Jiang, NBC News reporter Josh Lederman, The Guardian and The Washington Post all similarly omitted her actual support of the science.
McEnany blasted the slanted reporting.
"Case Study in Media Bias," McEnany wrote. "I said: 'The science is very clear on this...the science is on our side here. We encourage our localities & states to just simply follow the science. Open our schools.' But leave it to the media to deceptively suggest I was making the opposite point!"
You know it's bad when even CNN's Jake Tapper criticizes his own colleague.
Fortunately, White House pressers are well documented.
Yahoo News published the full transcript of Kayleigh McEnany's response to the question:
- Well, you talked about earlier the school districts, but we're seeing more school districts, at least in Virginia, for example, last night, deciding to go online only. What does the president say to parents out there, who are now going, OK, what do I do with my kids?
KAYLEIGH MCENANY: Yeah, the president has said unmistakably that he wants schools to open, and I was just in the oval talking to him about that. And when he says open, he means open and full, kids being able to attend each and every day at their school. The science should not stand in the way of this, and as Dr. Scott Atlas said, I thought this was a good quote. Of course, we can do it.
Everyone else in the Western world, our pure nations are doing it. We are the outlier here. The science is very clear on this. For instance, you look at the JAMA Pediatric study of 46 pediatric hospitals in North America that said the risk of critical illness from COVID is far less for children than that of seasonal flu.
The science is on our side here. And we encourage for localities and states to just simply follow the science, open our schools. It's very damaging to our children. There is a lack of reporting of abuse. There's mental depressions that are not addressed, suicidal ideations that are not addressed when students are not in school. Our schools are extremely important. They're essential, and they must reopen.
It's very clear what McEnany was saying.
To take one sentence out of context and blatantly mischaracterize the quote is media malpractice at its finest.
This is why the media elite will be SHOCKED again when Trump supporters deliver the president another resounding victory in November.
This elitism and dishonesty and corruption are exactly what we're tired of!
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