Topic: WorldNetDaily
When President Trump issued a vaguely worded statement following the white supremacist and neo-Nazi-linked violence in Charlottesville, Va., WorldNetDaily hdd to leap into action to put words in Trump's mouth that he hadn't actually said.
Cue an anonymous WND writer in an Aug. 13 article:
President Trump unequivocally condemned the ugly rally by neo-Nazis, Klan members and other white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, that turned violent when a man rammed his car into a group of counter-protesters.
“The president said very strongly in his statement yesterday that he condemns all forms of violence, bigotry, and hatred, and of course that includes white supremacists, KKK, neo-Nazi, and all extremist groups,” the White House reported in an official release Sunday. “He called for national unity and bringing all Americans together.”
Virginia police have not yet provided a motive for a man plowing a car into a crowd of people objecting to the white nationalists, but U.S. attorneys and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have opened a civil-rights investigation into the crash, an FBI field office said.
[...]
While Trump’s denunciation of the rally was unambiguous, much of the media reporting is attempting to link him to the racists and by claiming he didn’t blame only white supremacists.
Of course, Trump's denunciation was anything but "unambiguous" and unequivocal, given that he vaguely denounced only "many sides" and no group by name.
WND never gave the same pass to President Obama, who was repeatedly attacked for not using the term "Islamic terrorism" even though Obama unequivocally and unambiguously denounced extremist terror.
Similarly ironic is WND averring on speculation about James Fields' motive in allegedly driving his car "into a crowd of people objecting to the white nationalists," since WND routinely freaks out every time authorities want to wait until an investigation is conducted before calling an act of violence and not jumping to conclusions about alleged Islamist jihidism.
Speaking of freakouts, Joseph Farah served up one in defending Trump's non-specificity in his Aug. 13 column:
I guess unless you say you despise, detest, reject and hate white supremacists, racists, fascists, the Klan, neo-Nazis and other scum, you bear responsibility for the carnage and violence in Charlottesville.
That’s the distinct impression I’m getting from media coverage of this national tragedy.
[...]
I thought it was a pretty good statement – unequivocal, unambiguous, absolute, categorical, unmistakable.
I was wrong, because some people hate Donald Trump more than they hate racism. This is especially true of people who work in what we euphemistically still refer to as “the mainstream media.” There’s nothing “mainstream” about it. And their coverage of this showdown between two extremist groups – vicious, hate-filled white supremacists and the so-called “Antifa” brown-shirt creatures on the other side – leaves no room to denounce both, as Trump did.
Now we have three dead – two law enforcement personnel killed in a helicopter crash and one woman run down by a driver who injured 19 others – because of the inevitable toxic explosion of hate in Charlottesville.
And, I predict, this is far from over.
It could be the beginning of a new civil war – not just between two groups of nutty extremists – but a long national propaganda siege to condemn only one form of tyrannical, blind hatred.
There are common denominators that bind the two sides: Neither has any love in their hearts. Neither respects the precious right of free expression. And neither knows a thing about Robert E. Lee, who was nota racist, not a slaveholder and, yet, was the focal point – the excuse – of this ugly skirmish.
Actually, Lee did in fact own slaves, but you be you, Joe.
Farah also rants: "There will be no reasoning with anyone. There will be no possibility for rational dialogue. There will be no room for condemnation of both sides. Nevertheless, I will do it anyway. Because I’m tired of the guilt-by-association with racists and other reprobates by the fascist left."
Oh, we rather doubt that Farah is interested in "rational dialogue," given his website's history of engaging in the exact opposite. Does anyone believe that a website that repeatedly likened President Obama not only to Hitler but to the Antichrist is interested in rationality and reason?
Further, Farah's portrayal of himself as not a racist belies WND's history of anti-black race-baiting by giving a platform (and a book deal) to Colin Flaherty.
Also, the fact that Farah sees no moral distinction between neo-Nazis and liberal critics of Trump, whom he's painting as "so-called 'Antifa' brown-shirt creatures," says all we need to know about his brand of "rational dialogue."
When Trump finally issued an updated statement that specifically denounced white supremacists, WND trumpeted it in an Aug. 14 article by Garth Kant helpfully headlined "Trump specifically condemns white nationalists." Kant followed his boss in equivocating white supremacists with "the radical-leftist Antifa."
