Back at it Again: Fiery Katy Tur Misleads While Smearing Trump

July 7th, 2017 1:04 AM

MSNBC’s Katy Tur had made a name for herself as the network’s faulty political historian with numerous moments where she misstated known history and common knowledge. She would also target President Trump with smears launched from her disdain for him. During Thursday’s MTP Daily, Tur was at it again as Trump was away in Poland and Hamburg, Germany for the G20 summit. “We turn now to the political drama out of Europe involving the President,” she chided at the start of the program.

She began her rundown of the “political drama” by seemingly alluding to Trump being lower than Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Take a guess at which one of them, today, was calling American press outlets fake news while sowing doubts about the American intelligence on Russian hacking, and questioning President Obama's motives,” she mocked. “It may sound surreal, after all, this is an American president we're talking about, on the world stage, not Putin…”

This wasn’t the first time Tur had compared Trump to Putin. A couple weeks or so after his inauguration, Tur suggested Trump would be responsible for the “suspicious deaths” of journalists like Putin was infamous for.

That comparison was followed up by Tur whining about how Trump “undercut the American press.” “They have been fake news for a long time. They've been covering me in a very dishonest way. And others. I know there are others. NBC is equally as bad,” Trump said in a clip of a press conference she played. He also slammed the media for falsely claiming that 17 intelligence agencies were a part of the report that detailed Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

Trump’s facts didn’t sit well with Tur who, with a righteous indignation, declared:

To be clear, the intelligence community's assessment on Russian interference was based on information gathered by the FBI, the CIA and the NSA, which was then published by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. They represent all U.S. intelligence agencies.

The MSNBC host’s assertion was misleading. Just because the DNI represents all the U.S. intelligence agencies doesn’t mean that they all signed off on the report or that there was a consensus about every issue. That point was brought up in The New York Times’ correction to their claims about the report, which was hidden at the bottom of the page. “The assessment was made by four intelligence agencies … The assessment was not approved by all 17 organizations in the American intelligence community,” they wrote.

“President Trump today also tried to sow confusion by repeatedly questioning President Obama's handling of that intelligence,” she added during their her opening diatribe. “While it is fair to debate whether or not President Obama did enough. It is false to say he did nothing.” Again, her statement was misleading. In a clip that she played, Trump noted that his criticism of Obama’s inaction was in regards to before the election.

According to Tur, the federal government telling the public that the Russians were the ones behind the hacking of certain individuals equated to combatting the attacks. “After the election, President Obama sanctioned Russia, seized compounds, and expelled diplomats,” she touted. But again, Trump’s criticism had to do with before the election.

As Tur wrapped up her opening monologue, she did have some positive things to say about the President’s overseas address: “But to be fair, President Trump today also chided Russia for its destabilization in the Ukraine. He reaffirmed the United States' commitment to NATO. And he touted the value of free expression."

But she immediately turned around and dismissed all of her positive notations. “But which version of the American President do you believe? If you can fully believe either in the first place,” she spat.

With Tur’s long history of misstating historical and recent facts, vigorously arguing that they’re accurate, and her notable distaste for President Trump the real question is: Can you fully believe what she says in the first place?

Transcript below:

MSNBC
MTP Daily
July 6, 2017
5:01:45 PM Eastern

KATY TUR: We turn now to the political drama out of Europe involving the President. Tomorrow Mr. Trump meets with Vladimir Putin. Take a guess at which one of them, today, was calling American press outlets fake news, while sowing doubts about the American intelligence on Russian hacking, and questioning President Obama's motives. It may sound surreal, after all, this is an American president we're talking about, on the world stage, not Putin, but here's the President second-guessing America's intelligence agencies.

(…)

TUR: Here's the President undercutting the American press, starting with an attack on CNN.

DONALD TRUMP: They have been fake news for a long time. They've been covering me in a very dishonest way. And others. I know there are others. NBC is equally as bad.

TUR: Here's his one-two punch against both the intelligence and the press' reporting on Russian hacking.

(…)

TUR: To be clear, the intelligence community's assessment on Russian interference was based on information gathered by the FBI, the CIA and the NSA, which was then published by the office of the Director of National Intelligence. They represent all U.S. intelligence agencies. President Trump today also tried to sow confusion by repeatedly questioning President Obama's handling of that intelligence.

(…)

TUR: While it is fair to debate whether or not President Obama did enough. It is false to say he did nothing. A month before the election the intelligence community and the department of homeland security told the public that the Russian government, quote, “directed the hacks targeting U.S. persons, and institutions.” After the election, President Obama sanctioned Russia, seized compounds, and expelled diplomats.

But to be fair, President Trump today also chided Russia for its destabilization in the Ukraine. He reaffirmed the United States' commitment to NATO. And he touted the value of free expression. But which version of the American President do you believe? If you can fully believe either in the first place.

(…)