![\"\"](\"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Jeffrey-Goldberg-Atlantic-Associated-Press-640x480-1.jpg\")
Alex Brandon \/ Associated Press<\/p><\/div>\n
by JOEL B. POLLAK<\/p>\n
The Atlantic<\/em>\u00a0published a story Thursday evening that claimed President Donald Trump called the fallen American soldiers in a World War I cemetery \u201csuckers\u201d and \u201closers\u201d in 2018. The author, Jeffrey Goldberg, cited four anonymous sources.<\/h3>\nNearly a dozen current and former Trump administration officials disputed\u00a0the\u00a0story<\/a>. One, notably, was John Bolton, the former national security adviser who\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a0he will not vote for Trump. \u201cI was there,\u201d he\u00a0said<\/a>, and \u201cI didn\u2019t hear that.\u201d<\/p>\nOther claims in\u00a0The<\/i>\u00a0Atlantic\u00a0<\/em>story are refuted by documentary evidence. The article claims, for instance, that Trump refused to visit the cemetery because the rain would ruin his hair. Bolton\u2019s\u00a0tell-all book<\/a>\u00a0said otherwise; so do official\u00a0documents<\/a>.<\/p>\nWhat is more interesting than the details of the story is how it was produced, and how it was rolled out. It has the appearance of a well-coordinated, well-executed campaign of disinformation, utilizing the full toolbox available to the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n
The article was published Thursday evening. By Friday morning, a left-wing group called Vote Vets had not only produced an ad based on the article, but had\u00a0aired<\/a>\u00a0it on\u00a0Morning Joe<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 MSNBC\u2019s early-morning flagship news and opinion show.<\/p>\nMeanwhile, the article spread across social media like a brush fire in a derecho. It trended at the top of Twitter; it was shared widely on Facebook, all without any of the \u201cfact checks\u201d that typically accompany disputed news reports on such platforms.<\/p>\n
The Biden campaign issued a statement Thursday night \u2014 \u201cIf the revelations in today\u2019s\u00a0Atlantic<\/em>\u00a0article are true\u201d \u2014 and held a press call Friday morning. The call\u00a0featured<\/a>, among others, Khizr Khan \u2014 the Gold Star father who attacked Trump in 2016.<\/p>\nA short time later, Biden himself held a press briefing on the U.S. economy. Though he was expected to discuss the August jobs report \u2014 which came in better than expected, at 1.4 million jobs added \u2014 he led with an angry\u00a0tirade<\/a>\u00a0about the article.<\/p>\nAt the end of his presentation, Biden turned to his campaign staff, who chose which reporters would be allowed to ask questions, and in what order. The first question went to Edward-Isaac Dovere, who writes for \u2014 surprise! \u2014\u00a0The Atlantic<\/em>.<\/p>\nDovere\u00a0asked<\/a>, \u201cWhen you hear these remarks \u2014 \u2018suckers,\u2019 \u2018losers,\u2019 recoiling from amputees \u2014 what does it tell you about President Trump\u2019s soul, and the life he leads?\u201d It was a setup for Biden to attack Trump over\u00a0The<\/i>\u00a0Atlantic<\/i>\u00a0allegations again.<\/p>\nNone of the other questions asked were challenging in any way; all appeared to be setup questions for Biden to attack Trump or to clarify some lingering problem \u2014 whether he had been tested for coronavirus (yes), where his running mate was (busy).<\/p>\n
No one asked Biden whether it was appropriate to attack Trump based on an unconfirmed report. No one even asked Biden about his economic policies.<\/p>\n
What we witnessed Thursday night into Friday morning was the deployment of the Death Star \u2014 the full Democrat-media complex on display, coordinating journalists, outside political organizations, tech platforms, and unnamed military sources.<\/p>\n
It may be no coincidence that retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal \u2014 who was fired, ironically, because he had\u00a0disparaged<\/a>\u00a0President Barack Obama and Biden \u2014 now\u00a0advises<\/a>\u00a0a firm using military technology to help Democrats produce propaganda.<\/p>\nIt took weapons-grade skill to produce a story that, while unprovable, had the ring of truth to those eager to believe it (it \u201cresonates,\u201d\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0NBC\u2019s Peter Alexander, whether it was true or not) and to make it the dominant story of the news cycle \u2014 on a day when the jobs market rebounded and Trump brokered a historic deal between Israel and Muslim-majority Kosovo.<\/p>\nGoldberg \u2014 the unofficial stenographer of the Obama White House \u2014 was just a vehicle. The real story is much bigger.<\/p>\n
Other claims in\u00a0The<\/i>\u00a0Atlantic\u00a0<\/em>story are refuted by documentary evidence. The article claims, for instance, that Trump refused to visit the cemetery because the rain would ruin his hair. Bolton\u2019s\u00a0tell-all book<\/a>\u00a0said otherwise; so do official\u00a0documents<\/a>.<\/p>\n What is more interesting than the details of the story is how it was produced, and how it was rolled out. It has the appearance of a well-coordinated, well-executed campaign of disinformation, utilizing the full toolbox available to the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n The article was published Thursday evening. By Friday morning, a left-wing group called Vote Vets had not only produced an ad based on the article, but had\u00a0aired<\/a>\u00a0it on\u00a0Morning Joe<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 MSNBC\u2019s early-morning flagship news and opinion show.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the article spread across social media like a brush fire in a derecho. It trended at the top of Twitter; it was shared widely on Facebook, all without any of the \u201cfact checks\u201d that typically accompany disputed news reports on such platforms.<\/p>\n The Biden campaign issued a statement Thursday night \u2014 \u201cIf the revelations in today\u2019s\u00a0Atlantic<\/em>\u00a0article are true\u201d \u2014 and held a press call Friday morning. The call\u00a0featured<\/a>, among others, Khizr Khan \u2014 the Gold Star father who attacked Trump in 2016.<\/p>\n A short time later, Biden himself held a press briefing on the U.S. economy. Though he was expected to discuss the August jobs report \u2014 which came in better than expected, at 1.4 million jobs added \u2014 he led with an angry\u00a0tirade<\/a>\u00a0about the article.<\/p>\n At the end of his presentation, Biden turned to his campaign staff, who chose which reporters would be allowed to ask questions, and in what order. The first question went to Edward-Isaac Dovere, who writes for \u2014 surprise! \u2014\u00a0The Atlantic<\/em>.<\/p>\n Dovere\u00a0asked<\/a>, \u201cWhen you hear these remarks \u2014 \u2018suckers,\u2019 \u2018losers,\u2019 recoiling from amputees \u2014 what does it tell you about President Trump\u2019s soul, and the life he leads?\u201d It was a setup for Biden to attack Trump over\u00a0The<\/i>\u00a0Atlantic<\/i>\u00a0allegations again.<\/p>\n None of the other questions asked were challenging in any way; all appeared to be setup questions for Biden to attack Trump or to clarify some lingering problem \u2014 whether he had been tested for coronavirus (yes), where his running mate was (busy).<\/p>\n No one asked Biden whether it was appropriate to attack Trump based on an unconfirmed report. No one even asked Biden about his economic policies.<\/p>\n What we witnessed Thursday night into Friday morning was the deployment of the Death Star \u2014 the full Democrat-media complex on display, coordinating journalists, outside political organizations, tech platforms, and unnamed military sources.<\/p>\n It may be no coincidence that retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal \u2014 who was fired, ironically, because he had\u00a0disparaged<\/a>\u00a0President Barack Obama and Biden \u2014 now\u00a0advises<\/a>\u00a0a firm using military technology to help Democrats produce propaganda.<\/p>\n It took weapons-grade skill to produce a story that, while unprovable, had the ring of truth to those eager to believe it (it \u201cresonates,\u201d\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0NBC\u2019s Peter Alexander, whether it was true or not) and to make it the dominant story of the news cycle \u2014 on a day when the jobs market rebounded and Trump brokered a historic deal between Israel and Muslim-majority Kosovo.<\/p>\n Goldberg \u2014 the unofficial stenographer of the Obama White House \u2014 was just a vehicle. The real story is much bigger.<\/p>\n