Trump accused the media of not giving Islamic terrorism enough exposure and focus.
President Donald Trump stated during a speech on Monday that terrorist acts in Europe are going unreported by the mainstream media.
“All over Europe it’s happening [acts of terrorism]. It’s gotten to a point where it’s not even being reported. And in many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesn’t want to report it. They have their reasons, and you understand that,” he stated.
Trump made his claim before a broad audience on live television, while speaking at Central Command headquarters in Florida.
On Air Force One, Trump spokesman Sean Spicer seemingly walked backed Trump’s remarks and said he did not really mean that terrorist attacks received no coverage. Trump’s actual complaint, he said, was that such acts don’t get enough attention.
“He felt that members of media don’t always cover some of those events to the extent that other events might get covered,” Spicer said. “Like a protest gets blown out of the water, and yet an attack or a foiled attack doesn’t necessarily get the same coverage.”
The White House later released a list of 78 worldwide attacks it described as “executed or inspired by” ISIS.
Most on the list did not get sufficient media attention, the White House said, without specifying which ones it considered underreported.
Attacks on the list that had high death tolls were given coverage, such as the Brussels bombings in March, the San Bernadino, California, shootings in December 2015, and the Paris attacks in November 2015.
The list includes incidents like the truck massacre in Nice, France, that killed dozens, as well as less high-profile incidents in which nobody was killed
The White House did not point to any examples supporting Trump’s contention that terrorist attacks were “not even being reported.”
Less than half of the 78 incidents the White House listed occurred in Europe.
The media pushed back, saying Trump’s accusation was unfounded.
By: AP and World Israel News Staff