NBC’s Kristen Welker Fact-Checks Trump Smear of Omar and Tlaib: ‘Neither Has Said They Hate Israel or the Israeli People’
NBC News White House correspondent Kristen Welker fact-checked President Donald Trump instead of simply repeating Trump’s smear that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) “hate Israel & all Jewish people.”
On Thursday morning’s edition of MSNBC Live With Craig Melvin, anchor Craig Melvin reported the breaking news that Israel has decided to ban Reps. Omar and Tlaib from the country by reading a tweet from Trump pressuring the Israelis to do just that.
“It would show great weakness if Israel allowed Rep. Omar and Rep. Tlaib to visit. They hate Israel & all Jewish people, & there is nothing that can be said or done to change their minds. Minnesota and Michigan will have a hard time putting them back in office. They are a disgrace!” Melvin read, then tossed to Welker for a live shot from New Jersey.
“Craig, this is an escalation of the ongoing feud between President Trump and these congresswomen,” Welker began, but then added “Now, first a little bit of a fact check.”
“Neither has ever said that they hate Israel or the Israeli people,” Welker said, noting that “They have been critical of the Israeli government. They recently voted, in essence, in favor a boycott of the Israeli state over its treatment of the Palestinians, and they have made some controversial comments about Israeli’s, Omar having to walk back some of those comments.”
Welker also called Trump’s most recent attack an “escalation” of the “back-and-forth” between Trump and the congresswomen — as well as Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) — although there has been considerably more back than forth.
Trump had already engaged in attacks on Omar that resulted in death threats when he escalated his campaign to include the other three, telling all four to “go back” to the countries from which tey came (all 4 are U.S. citizens, and three were born here).
Shortly thereafter, Trump appeared to bask in rally chants of “Send her back!” directed at Omar.
The “forth” mainly consists of the congresswomen politically opposing Trump, and responding to his attacks on them.
Watch the clip above, via MSNBC.
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