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Conway concedes to some White House falsehoods in new interview – Metro US

Conway concedes to some White House falsehoods in new interview

Conway concedes to some White House falsehoods in new interview
Screenshot / CNN

Top White House adviser Kellyanne Conway admitted her fault in citing a massacre in Bowling Green, Kentucky, that did not occur, on CNN Tuesday, while telling the network that it wasn’t “fake news.”

Conway, who appeared on “State of the Union“with host Jake Tapper Tuesday night acknowledged that not all mainstream news sources are “fake news,” a criticism Trump accused CNN and other media outlets of in recent months.

“I don’t think CNN is ‘fake news,’” Conway, counselor to the president, said, adding that some outlets, however, do sloppy reporting. “I think there are some reports everywhere, in print, on TV, on radio, in conversation, that are not well-researched and are sometimes based on falsehoods.”

Just over a week before his inauguration, Trump refused to take a question from CNN reporter Jim Acosta during a press conference, calling the network “fake news.”

“Don’t be rude. No, I’m not going to give you a question. You are fake news,” Trump said in response to Acosta requesting a question.

The president has also repeatedly berated The New York Times, the Washington Post, NBC News and BuzzFeed in tweets.

Conway also told Tapper she “regretted tremendously” her criticism of the press for not covering the massacre, which she had cited last week in defense of President Trump’s crackdown on travel that targets seven Muslim-majority nations.

“I bet it’s brand new information to people that President Obama had a six-month ban on the Iraqi refugee program after two Iraqis came here to this country, were radicalized and were the masterminds behind the Bowling Green massacre,” Conway, said on MSNBC last Thursday. “Most people don’t know that because it didn’t get covered.”

Shortly after her comment went viral, Conway took to Twitter, claiming that she meant to say terrorists instead of massacre. She added that the media has made similar mistakes.

Tapper asked Conway about another false claim from the White House — Trump’s assertion earlier that day that the murder rate was the highest in 47 years.

“Everyday there are these sprays of attack and sprays of falsehoods coming from the White House. It would be better if they were not coming from the White House, for me and for you,” Tapper said.

“Agreed, and let me just say it has to go both ways. I do, Jake, I sincerely don’t see a lot of difference in coverage from when he was a candidate and when he became the Republican nominee, the president-elect and, indeed the President,” Conway responded.

The administration also ramped up attacks against news organizations this week, issuing a list of 78 terrorist attacks it claimed were underreported, beginning in September 2014.

“In many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesn’t want you to report it, the president said in an appearance at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa. “They have their reasons, and you understand that.”

White House spokesman Sean Spicer clarified later, saying that the president thinks many of the attacks were “underreported,” and don’t always get the coverage “to the extent that other events might get covered.”

The New York Times, among other news outlets, has since released a list in response to the president’s claims, offering links to coverage of nearly every terror attack listed by the White House.

Conway echoed that rhetoric to Tapper Tuesday, though she did admit that CNN “did amazing coverage for weeks at a time” for some of the attacks.

Others, however, didn’t receive the same coverage as the death of Prince, the president’s candidacy or claims that former presidential rival Hillary Clinton didn’t take terrorism seriously.

Calling herself “the most open press person in the White House,” Conway said she was now being attacked by the media.

“I’m just going to keep soldiering on,” she said.