There are generally two types of “October Surprises.”
There are the sorts of nasty political surprises that can actually hit a campaign right on the head. You can usually identify these by the response — or lack thereof — to the surprise.
And then, there are the, pun very much intended, trumped up surprises that are so heinously manufactured, the surprise can’t help but fall apart under the slightest bit of scrutiny.
(Of course there are good surprises, too.)
Guess what sort of “surprise” the latest one targeting former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, is?
For those of you who are blissfully unaware of the mainstream media’s more diabolical tactics, Trump came under some fire this week when a report from The Atlantic attributed some offensive quotes to the former president.
The blaring headline that everyone — CNN, MSNBC, People magazine — ran with was certainly a buzzy quote: “I need the kind of generals that Hitler had.”
But was it an actual quote?
Because a quote that damning that would surely be vetted by the establishment media … right?
The answer to both of those questions is, apparently, a middling, “Not really.”
The piece’s author, The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, immediately came under fire after publishing the piece, which effectively politicized a person’s death to (dubiously) smear Trump.
Using the 2020 death of a 20-year-old Army private, Vanessa Guillén, Goldberg despicably went about using half-truths and context-less quotes to blast Trump’s character.
Presented without alteration, here may be one of the most disgusting displays of mental gymnastics ever produced by a major outlet, abruptly jumping from a tragic death to hearsay about Trump:
“The personal qualities displayed by Trump in his reaction to the cost of the Guillén funeral — contempt, rage, parsimony, racism — hardly surprised his inner circle.
“Trump has frequently voiced his disdain for those who serve in the military and for their devotion to duty, honor, and sacrifice. Former generals who have worked for Trump say that the sole military virtue he prizes is obedience.
“As his presidency drew to a close, and in the years since, he has become more and more interested in the advantages of dictatorship, and the absolute control over the military that he believes it would deliver.”
“I need the kind of generals that Hitler had,” The Atlantic then attributed to Trump, “according to two people who heard him say this.”
Trump allegedly added: “People who were totally loyal to him, that follow orders.”
Too bad for those “two people,” at least three people have completely disputed Goldberg’s framing in his piece.
First, attorney Natalie Khawam — quoted directly in the piece — had to, for the first time in her career, call out Goldberg’s dishonesty.
After having dealt with hundreds of reporters in my legal career, this is unfortunately the first time I have to go on record and call out Jeffrey Goldberg@the Atlantic: not only did he misrepresent our conversation but he outright LIED in HIS sensational story.
More… https://t.co/uJtfsNTo37— Attorney Natalie Khawam (@WhistleblowerLF) October 22, 2024
“After having dealt with hundreds of reporters in my legal career, this is unfortunately the first time I have to go on record and call out Jeffrey Goldberg [of the Atlantic]: not only did he misrepresent our conversation but he outright LIED in HIS sensational story,” Khawam said, before launching into two great points.
First: “More importantly, he used and exploited my clients, and Vanessa Guillen’s murder… for cheap political gain.” Yeah. It’s pretty gross.
Second: “I would like to also point out that the timing of this ‘story’ is quite suspicious, as this supposed conversation that Trump had would have occurred over 4 years ago! Why a story about it now?!” Indeed, why now? Certainly there’s nothing big looming on, say, Nov. 5, right?
Vanessa Guillén’s sister, Mayra, took to social media to not only slam Goldberg, but offer him a delicious bit of sweet justice:
Wow.
I don’t appreciate how you are exploiting my sister’s death for politics- hurtful & disrespectful to the important changes she made for service members. President Donald Trump did nothing but show respect to my family & Vanessa. In fact, I voted for President Trump today. https://t.co/o8cDrKOKBV— Mayra Guillen (@mguilen_) October 22, 2024
“Wow,” Mayra wrote on X. “I don’t appreciate how you are exploiting my sister’s death for politics- hurtful & disrespectful to the important changes she made for service members. President Donald Trump did nothing but show respect to my family & Vanessa.
“In fact, I voted for President Trump today.”
(Ouch, Jeff. Ouch.)
Finally, ex-representative for Trump’s former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, also chimed in on the the duplicitous nature of Goldberg’s “reporting.”
On the left: I sent Atlantic a comment saying President Trump “absolutely did not say that,” referring to the alleged comments about Ms. Guillen they printed.
On the right: Atlantic translated that comment to “didn’t hear Trump say it.”
Treat this dishonest piece accordingly. pic.twitter.com/pM1o1c9fEm
— Ben Williamson (@_WilliamsonBen) October 22, 2024
Former Meadows staffer Ben Williamson posted the response that emphatically denied the Hitler quote, compared to the neutered denial posted by The Atlantic.
“Treat this dishonest piece accordingly,” Williamson wisely advised.
