Fact-Checking the Ridiculous Fact-Checkers

RUSH: I mentioned I was gonna go through some of the silly and ridiculous fact checks.

I think to do this, I’m going to enlist the assistance of Mollie Hemingway at The Federalist. She has highlighted some of the (chuckles) most ridiculous examples of fact-checking. She writes here, “The Democrats’ theme for” last night, all during the day yesterday, and in days leading up to Trump’s national address — the Democrat theme, the media theme — “was ‘facts, not fear,’” meaning Trump was gonna lie. He was just gonna scare people and he was gonna frighten people. He was gonna lie to people, and he was gonna get people thinking things that aren’t true, and so the media was demanding that Trump stick to “facts, not fear.”

They were demanding of Trump all day that he not lie.

“The Democrats’ theme for the evening was ‘facts, not fear.’ Many major media also adopted the same theme. The coordinated talking point began hours if not days before the speech even aired, with CNN’s Alisyn Camerota saying yesterday morning, ‘Fact-checkers are eating their Wheaties and getting extra rest since they will be working overtime tonight to separate fact from fiction on this border situation.’” So Trump was gonna lie, and it was gonna be so bad and so intense that the facts-checkers are gonna have to have a pregame meal, get a lot of sleep, ’cause they’re gonna be busier than they’ve ever been ’cause all Trump’s gonna do is lie!

“As soon as the speech ended, White House press corps mascot Jim Acosta recited his rather groan-inducing rehearsed line that Trump’s address ‘should have come with a Surgeon General’s warning that it was hazardous to the truth.’ But when it came time to back up this talking point about factual inaccuracies, the media whiffed. Most of the alleged ‘fact’ ‘checks’ were instead critiques of opinions. Many critiqued things not included in Trump’s speech. And sometimes the ‘fact’ ‘checks’ dinged Trump for saying completely true things. Take the Washington Post, for instance.”

This is true. They actually criticized Trump for saying things that are true. Washington Post: “Fact-checking Trump’s address: ‘266,000 aliens arrested in the past two years.’ The number is right but misleading.” That’s the fact check. “The number is right but misleading. It’s important to keep in mind that this figure includes all types of crimes, including nonviolent offenses such as illegal entry or reentry.”

So they characterize Trump’s claim as factual, as misleading because the figure includes all types of crimes. Who in the world could make this up? That’s a fact check? They fact check and they found out his right but it’s misleading because it’s all crime. It further makes Trump’s point, in other words. They’re claiming Trump undersold his point! And it wasn’t the only fact check of that nature.

Here’s more …

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