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The Associated Press wrote a beautifully wicked fact-check of Donald Trump this morning. It’s so good, it’s downright sassy.
AP walks through a variety of issues, including Trump claiming: that former FBI Director James Comey is a “coward”; that Comey broke the law by releasing his notes of the meeting in which Trump tried to kill the FBI’s probe of Michael Flynn’s ties to Russia; that “money is pouring into NATO”; that Trump doesn’t know Comey; that Democrats are obstructing Trump’s appointees and agenda; that Comey’s testimony “vindicated” Trump; that Obamacare is in a “total death spiral”; Trump’s claims about Obama’s stimulus; Trump’s EPA chief lying about new coal jobs and climate change.
Rather than summarize the story, just go read it. It’s good.
I’d rather talk about what the story represents. It’s a rather strong story, with a strong voice, for AP. AP, like Reuters, traditionally has a more staid “just the facts, ma’am,” approach to journalism. This, however, is written more in the style of the Economist, with the voice of a real person behind the story, and someone who’s not willing to put with any BS.
I suspect this is a pushback against the Fake News phenomenon, which includes what the Russians did during the election, but also the lies that Donald Trump spews on a regular basis, putting him in a uniquely dishonest category for presidents. The media is finally fighting back, and rather than simply striving for balance — which often leads to a he-said-she-said article that simply regurgitates GOP lies as though they’re perhaps a valid argument — the media’s goal is now truth.
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