Top Trump aide in new ‘alternative facts’ flap
washington — A top adviser to President Donald Trump found herself embroiled in a new “alternative facts” controversy on Friday over her unfounded claim that two radicalised Iraqis had masterminded a US massacre that never took place.
Kellyanne Conway, who managed Trump’s presidential campaign and is now a White House counselor, made the remark Thursday in an interview with MSNBC while defending Trump’s ban on refugees as similar to steps taken by former president Barack Obama.
“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 radicalised and they were the masterminds behind the Bowling Green massacre. It didn’t get covered.”
There was no massacre at Bowling Green.
Two Iraqi men from Bowling Green, Kentucky were indeed indicted in 2011 — but for trying to send money and weapons to AlQaeda, and for using improvised devices against US soldiers in Iraq. Both are now serving long prison sentences.
Mohanad Shareef Hammadi and Waad Ramadan Alwan pleaded guilty and were sentenced to life in prison and to 40 years in prison, respectively. Neither was charged with plotting attacks within the United States, prosecutors said.
After that incident, Obama did order more extensive background checks on Iraqi refugees but never stopped or banned the refugee resettlement program, the Washington Post reported.
Conway introduced the term “alternativefacts” to the US political lexicon last month in defending White House press secretary’s Sean Spicer’s specious claim that Trump’s inauguration drew “the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration — period — both in person and around the globe.”
When Spicer’s claim was called out in an interview on MSNBC’s “Meet the Press,” Conway retorted: “You’re saying it’s a falsehood... Sean Spicer, our press secretary, gave alternative facts to that.”
Conway corrected herself on Friday in a post on Twitter, saying: “Honest mistakes abound.”
The phrase “Bowling Green massacre” was the top trending topic on Twitter on Friday morning as thousands of social media users mocked Conway’s error.
Conway said on Twitter that she meant to say “Bowling Green terrorists” on the show. She also slammed a network reporter for criticizing her. — AFP, Reuters