President Trump was the center of another firestorm. During immigration negotiations with congressional leaders, the president reportedly said why are we letting people in from “s**thole countries.” Now, he was probably referring to the nations with temporary protective status, but the media blew a gasket. In the aftermath, the U.S. Ambassador to Panama, John Feeley, decided to resign, citing his inability to no longer being able to serve President Trump. The timing was just a coincidence, but some in the media decided to jump the gun and say that he resigned over the president’s remarks.
One MSNBC producer took to Twitter to make the announcement. Our friends at Twitchy caught this facepalm moment. In a now deleted tweet, the producer said, “Feeley is the first U.S. diplomat to resign over the president’s comments.”
"Concerns the phrasing was misleading" is being rather charitable, no? pic.twitter.com/TAZ8m7hynF
— Maul Of America (@MaulofAmerica) January 12, 2018
I deleted an earlier tweet about Ambassador Feeley's resignation over concerns the phrasing was misleading. Feeley resigned December 27th, according to the State Dept. In the resignation letter read to @reuters, he cited political conflict with the current president's policies.
— Mary Emily O’Hara (@MaryEmilyOHara) January 12, 2018
The use of the word "comments" appears to have confused some people. Feeley's resignation letter, first reported by @reuters, cites his resignation over the president's "policies." https://t.co/fxpm12hcr5
— Mary Emily O’Hara (@MaryEmilyOHara) January 12, 2018
Yeah, not true. This is what Reuters reported [emphasis mine]:
U.S. Ambassador to Panama John Feeley, a career diplomat and former Marine Corps helicopter pilot, has resigned, saying he no longer felt able to serve President Donald Trump.
Feeley’s departure had been communicated to State Department officials on Dec. 27 and was not a response to Trump’s alleged use of the word “sh*thole” to describe Haiti and African countries at a meeting on Thursday, U.S. officials said.
So, take a bow, media—you just stepped on a rake again. For all the criticism about Trump making inaccurate statements, and I’m not saying that hasn’t happened, it seems the news media also has trouble in that department as well. It’s been so for a while, but it’s still stunning, the sustained lack of self-awareness.
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