Fox News star Geraldo Rivera shocked fans on Friday with a tweet blasting fellow journalists who use “anonymous sources” to publish what he called a “steady stream of bulls***.”
According to the Washington Examiner, Rivera’s comments came following the release of a bombshell report from The Atlantic that alleged President Donal Trump had made disparaging remarks about American soldiers who were killed in battle.
“Why are all anti-[Trump] stories based on anonymous sources?” Rivera tweeted. “Wait, let me answer: Because they’re chicken s**t Trump haters.”
Why are all anti-@realDonaldTrump stories based on anonymous sources? Wait, let me answer: Because they’re chicken shit Trump haters. Shame on the reporters who feed on that steady stream of bullshit.
— Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) September 5, 2020
The media’s latest smear
The Atlantic piece, published Thursday, rehashed previously debunked claims about Trump’s November 2018 visit to France to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I.
The piece alleged that Trump skipped a ceremony at a cemetery for fallen American troops because it was raining and he didn’t want his hair to get wet — a claim refuted by the president, who explained at the time that the Secret Service had determined there was no way to get Trump to the event safely.
Also included in the Thursday article were anonymously-sourced claims that Trump had disparaged fallen soldiers, calling them “losers” and “suckers” who were unworthy of his attention. “Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers,” the president allegedly said.
“I didn’t hear that”
Since the publication of The Atlantic‘s story, nearly a dozen individuals who were on the France trip and who know Trump personally have gone on record to assert that the president has never made any such statement. “No one, and I mean no one, loves and cares for our servicemen and women as much as President Donald J. Trump,” White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said of the situation, according to the Examiner.
Even former National Security Adviser John Bolton, who was fired by Trump in September 2019, has pushed back against The Atlantic‘s account.
“I didn’t hear that,” Bolton told reporters for The New York Times, according to The Hill. “I’m not saying he didn’t say them later in the day or another time, but I was there for that discussion.”
As those in Washington and beyond continue to pummel The Atlantic‘s claims, journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, who authored the Trump hit-piece, has made no indication that he’ll be releasing the names of his sources. But according to a Saturday tweet from Rivera, it’s the anonymity that truly makes all the difference.
Once a source is granted anonymity they become bold & creative. Suddenly the church mouse becomes a lion. They puff & blow & accuse someone they dislike of anything the reporter wants, certainly construing-in the most evil way possible-anything their target has ever said or done.
— Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) September 5, 2020
The post Fox's Geraldo Rivera rips use of 'anonymous sources' in wake of bombshell Atlantic article first appeared on Conservative Institute.
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