‘Total Exoneration, Complete Vindication’ Trump Falsely Claims
Following the release of Attorney General Bill Barr’s summary of the special counsel’s final report, President Donald Trump has been in a celebratory mood — despite the ambiguous findings presented and the fact that few people really know how damaging the underlying material could be.
So it wasn’t much of a surprise on Thursday when, at an evening campaign rally, Trump let loose.
He was at times profane, insulting, delusional, and absurd — sometimes all at once. And, of course, the rally was filled with lies. Here are seven of the most outrageous moments, as captured on Twiiter by Vox’s Aaron Rupar:
1. Was it a first for a president to use the word “bullshit” on live TV, without showing an ounce of regret? It’s hard to say, but it’s become clear that the president’s speeches are not suitable viewing for young children, which might’ve once seemed like a surprising development for a party that used to sell itself as the bulwark for “family values.”
2. Trump seems to think he will do well with women voters in 2020. That’s almost certainly false — women have been fleeing the GOP, and a new poll from Quinnipiac University Thursday found that a whopping 60 percent of women will “definitely not vote” for Trump in 2020.
3. In a perplexing moment, Trump seems to refer to a person in the audience and say that he needs a lot of prescription drugs.
4. While most conservative and Republican lawmakers have adopted bashing the nebulous “elite” — a class they and their allies never seem to belong to — the president prefers an odd rhetorical tactic of trying to reclaim the world for himself, and in his speech Thursday, his supporters. You can be sure that if President Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton had ever declared themselves to be “elite,” there would have been howls of outcry from the right wing. But to many corrupted conservative minds, Trump can do no wrong.
5. Despite claiming vindication from the end of the Russia investigation, Trump is still calling it a “hoax.” This is, of course, a lie — it was a methodical investigation of real crimes that led to dozens of indictments, guilty pleas, and convictions.
But Trump can’t even seem to get his argument straight. If the investigation supposedly “exonerated” him, why would he say it’s a hoax? Shouldn’t that make people suspicious of its conclusions, rather than have faith in them? The president, though, has never appeared to feel he is under the obligation that his claims should be rational or even minimally consistent.
6. Of course, the claim that the special counsel’s final report “exonerated” him is outright false. It specifically says that he was not exonerated of obstruction of justice. And though the attorney general said Trump will not be charged with conspiring with the Russian government to influence the 2016 election, even this is not an exoneration. All it implies is that the special counsel determined he could got prove the allegation in court.
7. In one of his more petty moments, Trump attacked the neck of Rep. Adam Schiff (D-NY). It’s a particularly weak insult, focusing on his appearance, rather than actions, as many of Trump’s other nicknames have. But it’s a good reminder that, whether it’s Trump, Schiff, or anyone else in politics, there should be no reason to make fun of somebody’s looks, when there’s so much other relevant behavior to judge officials for.