Trump's tweet defending Rob Porter sets off a fiery backlash
While the Olympics games kicked off, the stock market sinks, and a day after a government shutdown, President Trump tweeted in defense of an accused serial abuser.
The story of now-former aide Rob Porter has dominated much of the news cycle this week. After physical abuse allegations surfaced from two of his ex wives, Chief of Staff John Kelly sent out a memo defending him on Tuesday. When pictures of injuries that Porter allegedly caused came out the next day, he left the job, though it's unclear whether he resigned or was fired.
SEE ALSO: Even Fox News called out Trump's latest lie
Of course, it wouldn't be a day in America without the president weighing in with a problematic opinion. And so that's what he did Saturday morning.
Peoples lives are being shattered and destroyed by a mere allegation. Some are true and some are false. Some are old and some are new. There is no recovery for someone falsely accused - life and career are gone. Is there no such thing any longer as Due Process?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 10, 2018
It's easy to find many problems with this tweet, especially coming from Trump. Porter's case was more than a "mere allegation," his life was far from destroyed, and the president himself has a loooooooooong history of making groundless accusations and becoming enraged when no one takes action. It also continues to underscore Trump's instilled habit not to listen to women accusers.
A controversial Trump tweet is nothing out of the ordinary, but this one inspired many people to call it out.
In point of fact, 2 ex-wives talking on the record to journalists and to the FBI and one ex-girlfriend on background, with a photo of a black eye and a police report, is not “a mere allegation.” https://t.co/yummWOW4qZ
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 10, 2018
I don’t mean to scoff at this completely. Due process matters, and in the court of public opinion, all stories need to be carefully sourced and vetted. But losing a high-powered White House job over a credible report is not having your life destroyed. https://t.co/OZeH8Fv6KN
— Josh Greenman (@joshgreenman) February 10, 2018
The message of Trumpism is Good Things should happen to people we like and Bad Things should happen to people we don’t like, and we’ll fill in the petty details about how the “law” works later. It feels almost like missing the point to call it hypocrisy.
— Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) February 10, 2018
"LOCK HER UP! LOCK HER UP!" https://t.co/dBNeCwQ4lf
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) February 10, 2018
Multiple corroborating testimonies and photo evidence is not a “mere allegation”
Women’s lives are being shattered by being assaulted by men. https://t.co/cCi2cCHf2N— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) February 10, 2018
Half of all female homocide victims are killed by intimate partners https://t.co/tUmADs33i9 https://t.co/D2Ev6HtWpM
— erin ryan (@morninggloria) February 10, 2018
People were also quick to bring up Trump's campaign against the exonerated Central Park Five as one of the more notable examples of the hypocritical nature of his tweet.
This man spent $85K of his own money taking out full page ads in newspapers calling for the deaths of five Black and Latino teenagers who were falsely accused of rape & doubled down on his stance after DNA evidence exonerated them https://t.co/oaiFLGDmUx
— Bree Newsome (@BreeNewsome) February 10, 2018
This is especially rich coming from the man who has yet to publicly recant his bloodthirsty attack on the Central Park Five, despite their long-proven innocence. A racism and sexism twofer, and it's not even noon. pic.twitter.com/OnN8ww6xAh
— Lauren Duca (@laurenduca) February 10, 2018
This is the full-page advertisement Donald Trump took out calling for the execution of the Central Park Five.
They were later exonerated by DNA evidence, although President Trump maintains that they are guilty. pic.twitter.com/vspZemnW93— Scott Bixby (@scottbix) February 10, 2018
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