The New York Times was blasted after launching a dud attack on President Trump over an altered photo showing him with the hero dog who helped take down ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
The Times lashed out at the president after he tweeted out a Daily Wire Photoshop of him awarding the military K-9 with a medal of honor.
AMERICAN HERO! pic.twitter.com/XCCa2sGfsZ
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 30, 2019
Some ridiculous investigating on the photo then ensued.
“It’s photoshopped,” acknowledges a @WhiteHouse official. The dog is not here at the @WhiteHouse — yet.
— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) October 30, 2019
Turns out, retired Army medic James C. McCloughan was the original Medal of Honor recipient in the photo from 2017.
Wonder how James McCloughan feels about this…?https://t.co/8QOVQ5pBVahttps://t.co/VsDrgq7gQD pic.twitter.com/DezH4OJRs5
— Jeryl Bier (@JerylBier) October 30, 2019
But The New York Times thought it was a story worthy of its journalistic manpower, and assigned two reporters to the task of tracking down the cropped out Medal of Honor recipient who was surely incensed by the offense.
According to the Times:
Mr. McCloughan was awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest honor for valor in combat, in July 2017. He is credited with saving the lives of company members during a battle on Nui Yon Hill in 1969 near the city of Tam Kỳ, Vietnam. He was struck by shrapnel from a rocket-propelled grenade and small-arms fire, but repeatedly ran onto the battlefield to rescue his comrades.
But if the publication saw this as an opportunity to torch the president, disappointment soon followed as it was revealed that McCloughan “certainly was not offended and laughed when he compared the two images.”
The photo President Trump shared seemed to be an altered version of a 2017 photo of James McCloughan receiving a Medal of Honor. McCloughan told The New York Times that he felt President Trump was recognizing the dog’s heroism: “They are very courageous.” https://t.co/XUWwq0b9Ie
— The New York Times (@nytimes) October 30, 2019
“After all, he said, Medal of Honor recipients accept on behalf of their entire teams, especially those that did not return from battle. And canines have long been part of war efforts,” the Times added about the 73-year-old veteran’s reaction.
Earlier this week, Trump had declassified the photo of the dog, hailing the “wonderful” canine for his assistance in chasing Baghdadi through the tunnel in his Syrian compound where he was eventually cut off in a dead-end and died when he detonated a suicide vest.
The dog, whose name was later revealed to be Conan, was slightly injured in the mission, yet is reportedly making a full recovery. Trump acknowledged the altered photo in a shout out to Daily Wire, hinting that Conan would probably be making a visit to the White House soon.
Thank you Daily Wire. Very cute recreation, but the “live” version of Conan will be leaving the Middle East for the White House sometime next week! https://t.co/Z1UfhxsSpT
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 31, 2019
The Times reporters tried to save the hit piece on the president, concluding that the Trump White House “is fluent in and speaks often in the language of internet memes.”
But the failed “gotcha” attempt with McCloughan earned the newspaper plenty of social media mockery — again.
That reaction pretty much spoils your narrative.
— Eric Fettmann (@EFettmann) October 30, 2019
I like how they didn’t tweet “McCloughan laughed” from the article. That would really hurt the “evil photoshopper President” angle.
— Jonny (@jonthnw) October 30, 2019
Let me give you a timeline.
Trump tweets fun photo of himself giving the “Medal of Pawnor” to hero dog.
The NYT launched into action and found the guy who got photoshopped over, hoping for a juicy angle to hit Trump with. Got this.
This happened in the span of four hours. https://t.co/22wOxdKSuI
— Brandon Morse (@TheBrandonMorse) October 30, 2019
Way to go NYT, so much journalisming
— Graveyard Cows (@steaknbacon13) October 30, 2019
Sorry for your loss @nytimes
— Stephen, Esq. (@HowManyDaysEU) October 30, 2019
How a normal person reacts.
— NNK (@ancientmomma) October 30, 2019
Media hardest hit.
— Dale Betterton (@DaleBetterton) October 30, 2019
So, you went on a fishing expedition looking for anti-Trump outrage and sadly only found a decent man with a sense of humour.
Well done.
— George (@memeXchange) October 30, 2019
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Frieda@bizpacreview.com
Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.
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