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Scrutify: To pull apart, inspect, study, analyze. examine.

The Staff

Trump Continues to StillClaim Illegal Immigrants Voted

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Even when he won, he still is complaining.  Show us the evidence!

Huffington Post, “President Donald Trump told Capitol Hill leaders Monday evening that he lost the popular vote because 3 million to 5 million “illegals” voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton, according to three sources in both parties familiar with the meeting.”[1]

The National Post, “The remarkable weekend performance by his press secretary, Sean Spicer, wherein he asserted what was plainly and verifiably false — that Trump’s inauguration had drawn the largest crowd in history — is a reminder of how grave the threat is. Spicer’s edict, after all, was plainly on orders of his boss, intended to reinforce Trump’s claim that “a million and a half” people had been present; his own claims were in turn defended by Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway’s as “alternative facts.” Score that a tripling (quadrupling?) down on the same obvious absurdity.”[2]

References:

  1. Huffington Post, January 23, 2017, Jennifer Bendery – Trump Falsely Tells Hill Leaders Millions Of ‘Illegals’ Cost Him The Popular Vote – Why does he keep saying this?
  2. The National Post, January 23, 2017, Andrew Coyne – Donald Trump takes lying to a whole new dimension

“Alternative Facts” – Maryann Conway

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The Atlantic, “One of the many things that is remarkable about the Trump administration is its devotion, even in its first days, to a particular variety of pointless falsehood.”[1]

The Atlantic also shows an amazing shot of almost empty reviewing stands during the Presidents motorcade.[1]

NBC News, “Kellyanne Conway, counselor to President Donald Trump, said the White House press secretary gave “alternative facts” when he inaccurately described the inauguration crowd as “the largest ever” during his first appearance before the press this weekend.”[2]

CNN, “This issue started back on Saturday, when the notoriously thin-skinned Trump visited the CIA and, while standing in front of the wall that pays tribute to CIA agents who sacrificed their lives for our nation, bragged about the size of the crowd that had attended his inauguration. Trump, after first trashing the media, told the audience of CIA employees that, “it looked like a million, million and a half people” were standing in the crowd cheering for him.
The only problem with Trump’s statement at the CIA is these pesky things called facts. No one can say with any certainty what the crowd size was, plus objective metrics — such as use of Washington’s mass transit — indicated that Trump’s crowd was much smaller.”[3]

References:

  1. The Atlantic, January 22, 2017, David A. Graham – ‘Alternative Facts’: The Needless Lies of the Trump Administration – If the president and his aides will tell easily disproven falsehoods about crowd sizes and speeches, what else will they be willing to dissemble about?
  2. NBC News, January 22, 2017, Alexandra Jaffe – Kellyanne Conway, counselor to President Donald Trump, said the White House press secretary gave “alternative facts” when he inaccurately described the inauguration crowd as “the largest ever” during his first appearance before the press this weekend.
  3. CNN, January 23, 2017, Dean Obeidallah – Dear team Trump,’alternative facts’ are lies

Michael Flynn May Not Be The Person You Really Know

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Donald Trump has picked retired lieutenant general Michael Flynn for national security advisor. A decision that concerns many due to Flynn’s track record of questionable conduct and history of false statements. Here five things you need to know about Michael Flynn.[1][2]

References:

  1. YouTube, See Progress, January 19, 2017 – Five Things You Need to Know About Michael Flynn
  2. Center for American Progress, January 19, 2017, Aki Suzuki, Andrew Satter, Carolyn Kenney – 5 Things You Should Know About Michael Flynn

Did Trump Lie About The Size of Inauguration Crowd

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Pictures don’t lie, but does Trump?

Although the National Park Service doesn’t make estimates of crowd size, CNN has a great interactive photo which shows the size of the crowds from 2009 and 2017, Trump’s Inauguration.[1]

CNN, “But the side-by-side images of Friday’s ceremony alongside the 2009 inauguration of President Barack Obama show a significantly smaller crowd on the National Mall for Trump than for Obama. There is empty ground exposed in the Trump photos. The same spots were almost entirely covered eight years ago, when estimates at the time suggested 1.8 million people attended the inauguration. The images above do not capture people who might have viewed from the west side of the Washington monument. And there are some differences. The grass on the mall is covered in white plastic for Trump’s inauguration, but not for Obama’s. When President Obama took the oath of office in 2009, conditions were clear with temperatures were in the 20s. Eight years later, temperatures hovered in the high 40s with intermittent rain. Another sign attendance for Trump’s inauguration could be lower: Metro ridership. Per WMATA, the Washington area transit authority, as of 11 am, 193,000 trips had been taken on the city’s subway system. At the same hour in 2009, that number was 513,000, according to WMATA. The same time for the second Obama inauguration saw 317,000 riders, and President George W. Bush’s second inauguration saw 197,000 riders by 11 am.”[1]

And now there seems to be bunches of sour grapes.

Media Matters, “In a surreal turn, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer tonight denied reality, lashed out at the press for its supposed “shameful and wrong” coverage of the size of the crowd that attended President Trump’s January 20 inaugural festivities, instructed the White House press corps on what they “should be writing and covering,” declared that the administration intended to “hold the press accountable,” and left the briefing room without taking questions.”[2]

Protestors make up some of the crowds that line the streets.[3]

The Press Secretary also did subtract from his numbers, the number of protesters that rode the transit system.

Politico, “President Donald Trump and his team are still fuming over evidence of a relatively small crowd for his inauguration, with his chief of staff claiming the reports are an effort to “de-legitimize” Trump and another senior adviser explaining that the administration is offering “alternative facts.””[5]

References:

  1. CNN, January 20, 2017, Betsy Klein – Comparing Donald Trump and Barack Obama’s inaugural crowd sizes
  2. Media Matters, January 21, 2017, Matt Gertz – The White House Press Secretary Just Declared War On Reality And The Press – What’s Next?
  3. Wikipedia – Protests against Donald Trump
  4. Huffington Post, January 21, 2017, Sam Levine – White House Press Secretary Rips Reporters In First Briefing Room Appearance – He accused them of inaccurately reporting the size of Donald Trump’s inaugural crowds. They didn’t.
  5. Politico, January 22, 2017,  Tara Palmeri – Trump fumes over inaugural crowd size – The president and his allies are hitting back against reports that Trump’s inauguration drew significantly fewer people than his predecessor’s did.
  6. The New York Times, January 22, 2017, Maggie Haberman – The Numbers Game of Donald Trump

Trump Scrubs White House Website from Climate Change and the ACA

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The Washington Post, “Just moments after President Donald Trump took the oath of office Friday, the official White House website was transformed into a set of policy pledges that offered the broad contours of the Trump administration’s top priorities — a list that included fierce support for law enforcement bordering on vigilantism, the seeming immediate elimination of the White House’s policy page on climate change, and a notable absence of any directives involving President Obama’s Affordable Care Act.”[1]

References:

  1. The Washington Post, January 20, 2017, Ashley Parker – Moments after taking the oath, President Trump transforms White House website