A New York Times columnist and guest on MSNBC’s “Meet the Press Daily” claimed that President Trump, much like authoritarian leaders, wants to round up people and have them murdered.
We know that is such an absurd statement it almost sounds like we made it up but, rest assured, we did not. The quotes are real.
Columnist Michelle Goldberg began a panel discussion by suggesting that German Chancellor Angela Merkel was the true leader of the free world and compared Trump to other world leaders.
“He’s a sort of junior player in a bloc of authoritarian countries,” Goldberg asserted. “He’s part of a bloc that includes Vladimir Putin, (Philippine President Rodrigo) Duterte. He’s kind of part of an axis of power.”
To her credit, host Katy Tur, no fan of the President by any stretch, tried to help clarify where her guest was going with these comments. Rather than right the ship, Goldberg sank even further with her commentary.
MSNBC panelist suggests Trump wants to round people up and murder them. pic.twitter.com/RiPqZwe6Bd
— Ryan Saavedra 🇺🇸 (@RealSaavedra) August 18, 2018
“Well he’s not rounding people up and murdering them without any, you know, due process,” Tur pushed back.
Goldberg’s response?
“He’d certainly like to.”
Not to her credit, Tur responded by alleging this was a statement that couldn’t be proven but suggested she could be convinced by adding the word ‘definitively.’
“I don’t think you can say that definitively,” she responded with a smile.
You “don’t think” that can be proven “definitively?”
How’s about we just let Goldberg know that she’s lost her mind for even making such an allegation?
Michelle Goldberg of the NYTs. You are one of the reasons 60% of the country no longer trusts the media. Congratulations. https://t.co/CL5Khawp3k
— Richfal (@rfalcigno) August 19, 2018
Goldberg’s analysis that President Trump is not the leader of the free world was met with some resistance by Commentary magazine editor John Podhoretz.
“If he is not the leader of the free world, there is no leader of the free world,” he said. “There is no world order without the most important richest, and most powerful country in the world trying to maintain (that).”
Goldberg responded that in the era of Trump, a country like “Saudi Arabia can intimidate Canada for sending out a tweet about its human rights record,” evoking laughter amongst the panel.
Comparing Trump to crazed dictators is not a new tactic of the media resistance. When a CNBC reporter compared the President to Kim Jong-un by saying he’s “a crazy man” recently, White House adviser Kellyanne Conway quickly set him straight.
“He’s not a crazy man,” she shot back. “He’s the President of the United States.”
Will anybody at the New York Times let Goldberg in on that secret? Or are they content to let their columnists make wildly false statements?
