Former President Donald Trump issued a statement Monday blasting legacy media tactics in response to The Washington Post’s extensive correction to a January article that misquoted him.
On Monday, The Washington Post corrected a story that claimed Trump pressured Frances Watson, Georgia’s top elections investigator, to “find the fraud” in the state and said she would be “a national hero” if she managed to find any.
The quotes, which were used against him during Trump’s second impeachment trial, were inaccurate, according to audio of the phone call published last week by The Wall Street Journal. The Washington Post, which attributed the quotes to a single anonymous source, corrected and updated their story Monday.
INBOX: Trump statement on Washington Post correction: pic.twitter.com/vTcKSI1gEN
— Henry Rodgers (@henryrodgersdc) March 15, 2021
Trump, who continues to maintain that he won Georgia, responded that the newspaper’s correction “makes the Georgia Witch Hunt a non-story,” and called for a deeper investigation into allegations of voter fraud by “the Stacey Abrams political machine” in Georgia’s deep-blue Fulton County.
Turning his aim back at the media, Trump claimed such “establishment media errors, omissions, mistakes, and outright lies always slant one way—against me and against Republicans,” and he noted “stories that hurt Democrats or undermine their narratives are buried, ignored, or delayed until they can do the least harm—for example, after an election is over.” He contrasted the coverage of the COVID-19 vaccine before and after the election as an example.
“A strong democracy requires a fair and honest press,” Trump concluded. “This latest media travesty underscores that legacy media outlets should be regarded as political entities—not journalistic enterprises. In any event, I thank the Washington Post for the correction.”
Read Trump’s full statement below:
The Washington Post just issued a correction as to the contents of the incorrectly reported phone call I had with respect to voter fraud in the Great State of Georgia. While I appreciate the Washington Post’s correction, which immediately makes the Georgia Witch Hunt a non-story, the original story was a Hoax, right from the very beginning. I would further appreciate a strong investigation into Fulton County, Georgia, and the Stacey Abrams political machine which, I believe, would totally change the course of the presidential election in Georgia.
Fulton County has not been properly audited for vote or signature verification. They only looked at areas of the State where there most likely would be few problems, and even there they found large numbers of mistakes. We are seeking to find and reveal the large-scale election fraud which took place in Georgia. Many residents agree, and their anger caused them not to turn out and vote for two Republican Senators in the January election.
The Consent Decree signed between Raffensperger and Stacey Abrams was not approved by the Georgia State Legislature, and therefore should be deemed invalid, and the election result changed. Why the Governor and Raffensperger ever approved this Consent Decree is one of the great questions? We look forward to an answer.
You will notice that establishment media errors, omissions, mistakes, and outright lies always slant one way—against me and against Republicans. Meanwhile, stories that hurt Democrats or undermine their narratives are buried, ignored, or delayed until they can do the least harm—for example, after an election is over. Look no further than the negative coverage of the vaccine that preceded the election and the overdue celebration of the vaccine once the election had concluded. A strong democracy requires a fair and honest press. This latest media travesty underscores that legacy media outlets should be regarded as political entities—not journalistic enterprises. In any event, I thank the Washington Post for the correction.