FAKE NEWS: WaPo Claims House Majority Leader Said Russia Paid Trump. He Was Obviously Joking.

The Washington Post’s Adam Entous mischaracterized a flippant comment made in jest by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as a sincere expression of fear that Donald Trump is an agent of foreign influence operating on behalf of the Kremlin.

Entous’ Wednesday headline reads: “House majority leader to colleagues in 2016: ‘I think Putin pays’ Trump,” decontextualizing the comment’s humorous flavor in order to push a narrative of Republicans secretly fearing Trump as an operative of a covert Moscow-driven coup.