A Washington Post reporter misconstrued Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s remarks on heroin trafficking and the deadly overdose epidemic.
The Washington Post’s Phillip Rucker claimed Trump called “immigration” poison, not heroin:
Trump on immigration: “We are going to stop that poison from flowing into our country."
— Philip Rucker (@PhilipRucker) October 7, 2016
At a town hall in Sandown, New Hampshire, Trump spoke at length about the heroin epidemic raging across the nation. Some 47,000 Americans died from overdoses, mostly from heroin and other opiates, in just a single year, 2014.
“The open border policies of Hillary Clinton, including catch and release, another terrible practice, have allowed a massive influx of drugs into New Hampshire, and frankly, to states all over our country. Almost every state. And it’s really fueled the tremendous drug and heroin crisis that we have,” Trump said.
We’re going to close up those borders, folks. Believe me. And I promise that to you in New Hampshire, more than anything else—I said, I talk about it no matter where I go and I mention this state, because it was really the first glimpse I got at how serious a problem we have. They’re poisoning our youth. They’re poisoning more than our youth—they’re poisoning everybody. But they’re poisoning our youth. It’s tough enough out there. Our youth doesn’t have a chance with what’s happening, and we’re not going to let it happen anymore.
“We’re going to help the people that are so badly addicted,” he added to applause. “We’re going to help them… I’m going to stop the drugs from coming in.”
Nearly all of the heroin consumed in the U.S. comes from Mexico and is brought across the border by Mexican traffickers, the Washington Post reported before Trump’s presidential run.
While answering a question during the town hall, Trump repeated that he would stop the flow of deadly drugs pouring into the country. He said he had asked border patrol and ICE agents, “How important is the wall?”
“They said, ‘Mr. Trump, it is absolutely necessary for us to do our proper job,'” Trump said. “Which gave me a little additional security as far as the wall is concerned.”
“We need the wall. We have to stop the drugs—heroin—but many drugs. We have to stop the drugs from pouring into our country. Believe me, it is poisoning our country. It’s poisoning our youth. And we’re going to stop it, and stop it fast, long before the wall gets up,” he continued. “We’re going to start that wall fast. I get ’em built fast. But I’ll tell you, long before, we’re going to stop that poison from flowing into our country.” The audience applauded.
While media outlets shut down their comments section so readers can’t talk back, they can still receive massive blowback on Twitter. Users slammed Rucker for his tweet:
You should delete this tweet. It's misleading and just inaccurate.
— Tré Goins-Phillips (@tregp) October 7, 2016
https://twitter.com/BColberg/status/784189254335340544
https://twitter.com/BColberg/status/784188658224095236
https://twitter.com/HenrySwissinger/status/784189427874684928
you do realize he was talking about heroin, right?
— Stephe96 (@Stephe96) October 7, 2016
https://twitter.com/jlangdale/status/784393148105654272
https://twitter.com/BWV_54/status/784213474910015488
I think he was talking about the actual drug.
— NYTNarrative (@NYTNarrative) October 7, 2016
You call yourself a correspondent? Of what, propaganda? He was speaking about drugs like heroin. Why spread lies? Blatant lie.
— Silence is Consent! (@NoSilentConsent) October 7, 2016
https://twitter.com/Z3pp3in/status/784253199095959552
just another notch on the dishonest media belt…
— Jay K (@JayKlos) October 7, 2016
This is why no one trusts the media. And stop making me want to defend the clown.
— SAJ (@GFVAHiker) October 7, 2016
scroll back up. I watched it – he was talking heroin in particular. He wants treatment programs for addicts (from another speech)
— Maxx11/11 (@MaxHayzz) October 7, 2016
https://twitter.com/StockPuppet/status/784189524255449089
taken out of context much? Boy get another job. Everyone heard it was drugs he was taking about. You should be embarrassed.
— red nationalist ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@sistronk) October 7, 2016
It's "Trump on drugs" not "immigration" unless you want to purposefully slander and have your journalism credentials revoked.
— ॐ (@JasonSamfield) October 7, 2016
He was talking about drugs. Get a grip.
— Spritely (@Spritely2315) October 7, 2016
https://twitter.com/mike4193496/status/784242590992502784
https://twitter.com/liars_never_win/status/784416702482092032
https://twitter.com/realtacoking25/status/784244478202695681
Other journalists corrected Rucker’s misinterpretation as well.
https://twitter.com/dmartosko/status/784249540685639681
https://twitter.com/dmartosko/status/784262194183536641
I think he was talking about heroin. https://t.co/c5PsSYoxXJ
— Blake Hounshell (@blakehounshell) October 7, 2016
After others pointed out his mistake, Rucker tried to backtrack, more than an hour and a half after his original tweet bounced around pundits’ and reporters’ feeds.
Trump's "poison" quote was about his border wall stopping heroin from entering USA, though it came in the context of immigration.
— Philip Rucker (@PhilipRucker) October 7, 2016
Rucker was also the reporter who bellowed “WHAT ABOUT YOUR GAFFES?” at Mitt Romney in Poland in 2012.
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