Mehdi reacts to Trump’s ABC News interview, and the president’s demonstrably false and totally crazy claim about a photoshopped tattoo on the knuckles of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
Our media sucks ballz. really they lack the spine to stand on an issue even when they're 100% factually correct, the "journalistic" sense says, let's move on.
Two reasons why we're in the state we're in.
1) Democrats fighting harder with progressives than they fight with Republicans.
2) The corporate media being in the tank for the establishment, regardless of sides.
3) Money in politics.
Couldn't help myself on the last point, it just snuck in there.
I'm sorry, @Mehdi, but I suggest you're being too harsh on Terry Moran. He DID say, repeatedly, that the pic was doctored, but bozo just kept on and on. It's reasonable that Terry did not swear in the interview - as you suggested he could have - and it was reasonable for him to try to close that festering sore, by moving on to UA. Love your work, and trust you accept my view as valid - even if you disagree.
Terry Moran swearing in the interview wasn't the point Mehdi was making. When Trump made that assertion, the interviwer should have talked about only that issue until it was properly addressed. Moran made the insanity worse by skirting it and being so insistent on moving on, when even Trump wanted to stay on the topic.
Donald Trump is the King of Stupid. Unfortunately, there are lots of people in the US that are either willing to pretend to be stupid or really are stupid. And, I'm not quite sure what the difference is between actually being stupid and pretending to be stupid.
Dear God, Mehdi, You're sooo right. Where is the spine on the journalist. I so wish you were granted an interview. Even if we know it would be your last with him, as well.
I’m not sure I agree. What else could Terry Moran have done? Repeated ‘it was photoshopped’ while trump repeated ‘Terry, Terry, Terry’? The photoshop was clearly fake, most people knew it, and the spectacle of trump bleating ‘Terry, Terry, Terry’ was the whole point of the interview.
Yes! Cite specific evidence that the picture was photoshopped. Ask Trump if it's ok for the president to be spreading blatant propaganda. Ask the president how many others are in a Salvadoran prison because of bogus evidence like this. Hold him down and skull-fuck him with facts!
He could have responded by showing an image of Garcia's hands without the photoshop. He could have explained what photoshopping is-- and how it is he knows this was photoshopped. He could have mentioned the Supreme Court ruling and asked if Trump planned to abide by it.
He could have cited evidence that the image was altered and hammered home the truth instead of flitting around saying the truth a few times then insisting on moving on. Clarity and focus rather than opaque mumbling about agreeing to disagree. People can agree to disagree about facts, not the fantasy Trump dreamed up.
This is how I handle it when my grandma won't stop repeating Fox News talking points. That's the level of attention this goon's opinions deserve, but he is, unfortunately, the president. And Terry Moran is a reporter, not me just wanting to have a nice peaceful Easter dinner
I agree the press is unwilling to challenge Trump and GOP liars directly. But this reporter at least had the courage to challenge Trump several times and to flat out say Garcia does not have MS13 tattooed on his hands and that it was photoshopped. You wouldn't find CNN reporters being as bold as he was.
somehow... it was actually interesting since dump wouldn't let go...dump tells him how lucky he should be that he is interviewing him... dump wouldn't stop..now he's on record, as well, 7 times insisting it was real...he couldn't stop insisting it was real which makes him look even more stupid when they show the tatoos it screams photo-shopped by a child ..it was almost laughable .."who's on first" routine
It's not even Photoshop - in PS you could actually make it look like a tattoo. This is Paint. Just letters dropped on. Ridiculous. They can't even get a real graphic artist to make their fakes.
Is Trump really that stupid that he believes those superimposed letters and numbers are real? Whoever photoshopped it put them there to not to make them look real but to show what the symbols 'allegedly' meant which is BS in itself because even gang tattoo experts have said they've never seen an MS13 tattoo like that. This is proof that Trump will believe anything yes told by those around him. He needs to be removed from office, it's plain as day job that he's only a puppet for Project2025
While Terry Moran's push back was limp, I don't think a stronger response would have mattered or done any good. Trump's ridiculous insistence that the photo was real was purely for HIS base. Trump got to do what Trump does, put dumb stuff out there for his people to lap up, then stick to the story.
While the interview was hilarious to watch I honestly don't blame Trump!!! I'm not a Trump supporter but just hear me out: Trump thought MS-13 was written on his knuckles... It look photoshopped but for the benefit of the doubt lest assume trump didn't look carefully. Trump assumed it was written. The way the reporter handled it was inexcusable. As evidence he should have shown the unphotoshopped picture and put the matter to rest then and there. He as a journalist should have done his job thoroughly. But instead, him avoiding Trump and trying to skip to the next question gave Trump the opportunity to take the narrative against the media as a general "That's why no one believes the news!". I have to agree with Trump. It made the reporter look like an idiot, seemed like a bumbling buffoon; who has no clue what he is doing, instead of unmasking Trump's idiocracy. He made Trump more believable.
You are being obtuse. Trump is President of the United States, he has advisors, he knows it's not real. He repeated the lie about immigrants eating people's pets in a televised debate. He knows how stupid his supporters are, and that's why he acts as if he says it, it's true no matter what the external evidence shows,
He is a grifter, and he doesn't believe in anything but stealing and accumulating wealth. American politics is corrupt, and he understands corruption. His lies are incredibly blatant, but so were Joe Biden's, Genocide Joe doubled down Israeli lies about beheaded babies, even after it was totally debunked.
Fair enough.... Trump may have been advised on this... but the reporter he should have been better prepared to silence any absurdity on Trump's end. Instead his lack of preparation gave Trump exactly what he wanted.
His racist, misogynist, homophobic base will only view this as a strong white man. That's what they want. He rose and the scum floated to the surface with him. Hopefully, others will see what he really is. As for Moran. Gutless pandering. Afraid. Edward R Murrow wish you were able to be here!!!!!
American reporters need to take a master class from you, Mehdi. We’re way too polite in this country. Without an aggressive press the insanity will continue unabated. I particularly appreciated your epic takedown of Matt Taibbi. I linked to it in this piece. https://open.substack.com/pub/thewrightstuff1/p/how-the-vampire-squid-scribe-became?r=3t1kwq&utm_medium=ios
Our media sucks ballz. really they lack the spine to stand on an issue even when they're 100% factually correct, the "journalistic" sense says, let's move on.
Two reasons why we're in the state we're in.
1) Democrats fighting harder with progressives than they fight with Republicans.
2) The corporate media being in the tank for the establishment, regardless of sides.
3) Money in politics.
Couldn't help myself on the last point, it just snuck in there.
The last point was definitely needed. Root of all evil!
I'm sorry, @Mehdi, but I suggest you're being too harsh on Terry Moran. He DID say, repeatedly, that the pic was doctored, but bozo just kept on and on. It's reasonable that Terry did not swear in the interview - as you suggested he could have - and it was reasonable for him to try to close that festering sore, by moving on to UA. Love your work, and trust you accept my view as valid - even if you disagree.
Terry Moran swearing in the interview wasn't the point Mehdi was making. When Trump made that assertion, the interviwer should have talked about only that issue until it was properly addressed. Moran made the insanity worse by skirting it and being so insistent on moving on, when even Trump wanted to stay on the topic.
That last point is the main point and is the reason for the other two points.
I’m open mouthed watching this. Then I’m screaming at the journalist ‘DON’T MOVE ON! HOLD HIM TO ACCOUNT!’ Utter insanity.
Donald Trump is the King of Stupid. Unfortunately, there are lots of people in the US that are either willing to pretend to be stupid or really are stupid. And, I'm not quite sure what the difference is between actually being stupid and pretending to be stupid.
Dumb and easily manipulated > smart but playing dumb to advance evil. (That's what I keep telling myself about my Trumper family.)
Dear God, Mehdi, You're sooo right. Where is the spine on the journalist. I so wish you were granted an interview. Even if we know it would be your last with him, as well.
Robert Reisler
Author, The Four Myths
RobertReisler.com
I’m not sure I agree. What else could Terry Moran have done? Repeated ‘it was photoshopped’ while trump repeated ‘Terry, Terry, Terry’? The photoshop was clearly fake, most people knew it, and the spectacle of trump bleating ‘Terry, Terry, Terry’ was the whole point of the interview.
Yes! Cite specific evidence that the picture was photoshopped. Ask Trump if it's ok for the president to be spreading blatant propaganda. Ask the president how many others are in a Salvadoran prison because of bogus evidence like this. Hold him down and skull-fuck him with facts!
Although you ask a valid question, I’m not a journalist and mehdi is. So I’d really like to hear a reply from him to your reply. Honestly.
He could have responded by showing an image of Garcia's hands without the photoshop. He could have explained what photoshopping is-- and how it is he knows this was photoshopped. He could have mentioned the Supreme Court ruling and asked if Trump planned to abide by it.
He could have cited evidence that the image was altered and hammered home the truth instead of flitting around saying the truth a few times then insisting on moving on. Clarity and focus rather than opaque mumbling about agreeing to disagree. People can agree to disagree about facts, not the fantasy Trump dreamed up.
This is how I handle it when my grandma won't stop repeating Fox News talking points. That's the level of attention this goon's opinions deserve, but he is, unfortunately, the president. And Terry Moran is a reporter, not me just wanting to have a nice peaceful Easter dinner
I agree the press is unwilling to challenge Trump and GOP liars directly. But this reporter at least had the courage to challenge Trump several times and to flat out say Garcia does not have MS13 tattooed on his hands and that it was photoshopped. You wouldn't find CNN reporters being as bold as he was.
somehow... it was actually interesting since dump wouldn't let go...dump tells him how lucky he should be that he is interviewing him... dump wouldn't stop..now he's on record, as well, 7 times insisting it was real...he couldn't stop insisting it was real which makes him look even more stupid when they show the tatoos it screams photo-shopped by a child ..it was almost laughable .."who's on first" routine
It's not even Photoshop - in PS you could actually make it look like a tattoo. This is Paint. Just letters dropped on. Ridiculous. They can't even get a real graphic artist to make their fakes.
I don't think the person who made that photo ever dreamed that someone would think those letters were meant to look like tattoos.
They're labels, added to promote someone's interpretation or supposed 'translation' of the actual tattoos.
Is Trump really that stupid that he believes those superimposed letters and numbers are real? Whoever photoshopped it put them there to not to make them look real but to show what the symbols 'allegedly' meant which is BS in itself because even gang tattoo experts have said they've never seen an MS13 tattoo like that. This is proof that Trump will believe anything yes told by those around him. He needs to be removed from office, it's plain as day job that he's only a puppet for Project2025
The letters and numbers look like they were put there by the text feature in photo software! 😝
While Terry Moran's push back was limp, I don't think a stronger response would have mattered or done any good. Trump's ridiculous insistence that the photo was real was purely for HIS base. Trump got to do what Trump does, put dumb stuff out there for his people to lap up, then stick to the story.
While the interview was hilarious to watch I honestly don't blame Trump!!! I'm not a Trump supporter but just hear me out: Trump thought MS-13 was written on his knuckles... It look photoshopped but for the benefit of the doubt lest assume trump didn't look carefully. Trump assumed it was written. The way the reporter handled it was inexcusable. As evidence he should have shown the unphotoshopped picture and put the matter to rest then and there. He as a journalist should have done his job thoroughly. But instead, him avoiding Trump and trying to skip to the next question gave Trump the opportunity to take the narrative against the media as a general "That's why no one believes the news!". I have to agree with Trump. It made the reporter look like an idiot, seemed like a bumbling buffoon; who has no clue what he is doing, instead of unmasking Trump's idiocracy. He made Trump more believable.
You are being obtuse. Trump is President of the United States, he has advisors, he knows it's not real. He repeated the lie about immigrants eating people's pets in a televised debate. He knows how stupid his supporters are, and that's why he acts as if he says it, it's true no matter what the external evidence shows,
We actually have no idea what he believes. As far as I can tell he believes whatever he reads on the internet.
He is a grifter, and he doesn't believe in anything but stealing and accumulating wealth. American politics is corrupt, and he understands corruption. His lies are incredibly blatant, but so were Joe Biden's, Genocide Joe doubled down Israeli lies about beheaded babies, even after it was totally debunked.
Fair enough.... Trump may have been advised on this... but the reporter he should have been better prepared to silence any absurdity on Trump's end. Instead his lack of preparation gave Trump exactly what he wanted.
This is what happens when facts don't matter & lies are left unchallenged...
Please God, have mercy on us.
They're all worried about access, and not just for the reporters, but for the outlets as a whole. Remember the insane reason for barring AP.
His racist, misogynist, homophobic base will only view this as a strong white man. That's what they want. He rose and the scum floated to the surface with him. Hopefully, others will see what he really is. As for Moran. Gutless pandering. Afraid. Edward R Murrow wish you were able to be here!!!!!