Associated Press Gets Roasted Alive For ‘Fact Check’ Tweet Blaming Democrats and Trump Equally For Shutdown
The hottest take on Tuesday did not belong to any of the usual suspects, but rather to the Associated Press, which tweeted out a “fact check” that blamed Donald Trump and the Democrats equally for a government shutdown which Trump himself said he would be “proud” to claim credit for.
Following Trump’s Oval Office address Tuesday night, the AP Politics Twitter account posted a tweet which read “AP FACT CHECK: Democrats put the blame for the shutdown on Trump. But it takes two to tango. Trump’s demand for $5.7 billion for his border wall is one reason for the budget impasse. The Democrats refusal to approve the money is another.”
AP FACT CHECK: Democrats put the blame for the shutdown on Trump. But it takes two to tango. Trump’s demand for $5.7 billion for his border wall is one reason for the budget impasse. The Democrats refusal to approve the money is another. https://t.co/9IWnqUgl2d
— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) January 9, 2019
The tweet quickly racked up a 10-to-1 ratio of comments to retweets, with many Twitter users pointing out flaws in the AP’s logic. As Neera Tanden noted, the House and the Senate have both passed bills that would have averted or ended the shutdown:
It literally does not take two to tango on this. The House and Senate have both passed $1.6 b bills. Trump could just accept them. Terrible tweet https://t.co/TtkwymEfjC
— Neera Tanden (@neeratanden) January 9, 2019
Other prominent Twitter users were even less kind:
The more you re-read it, the funnier it gets. https://t.co/38lM1rSe2f
— Jay Rosen (@jayrosen_nyu) January 9, 2019
Mugger: Give me $2 million.
Jogger: I don’t have $2 million.
Mugger: *shoots jogger*
AP Fact Check: It takes two to tango.— Dave Hogg (@stareagle) January 9, 2019
fuck you again
— we’re going to pass AVR (@SeanMcElwee) January 9, 2019
“Some people blamed the mugger for the stabbing but it takes two to tango. The mugger demanded your wallet or else. By refusing to give the mugger your wallet, the stabbing is also technically your fault”
— Mike Drucker (@MikeDrucker) January 9, 2019
What the hell is wrong with you???
“Democrats put the blame for the murder on the murderer. But it takes two to tango. The murder stabbing the victim is one reason the victim is dead. The victim being in the vicinity of the murderer is another.”
— Charles #GetCovered-ba (@charles_gaba) January 9, 2019
This is a bad take. You could just as easily say that McConnell refuses to take up the approps bills on the senate floor. False equivalence is not analysis.
— Daniel Schuman (@danielschuman) January 9, 2019
Perhaps it does “take two to tango,” but as the AP discovered Tuesday night, it only takes one tweet to start a stampede.
