The Washington Post editorial board notices a Republican lie about Syrian refugees. But don’t get too excited—the Post’s real goal in noticing is to attack Donald Trump, who shakes them to their establishment Republican bones.
“OUR PRESIDENT wants to take in 250,000 from Syria,” says Donald Trump, falsely. “Think of it, 250,000 people. And we all have heart, and we all want people taken care of and all of that, but with the problems our country has, to take in 250,000 people — some of whom are going to have problems, big problems — is just insane.”
It is not insane. It is a lie. It is a lie that Mr. Trump repeats, even as fact checkers and reporters point out that it is wrong. Not just repeats, but embellishes. Last month, the number was lower: “Now I hear we want to take in 200,000,” he said on ABC News. “We don’t know where they’re coming from. We don’t know who they are. They could be ISIS. It could be the great Trojan horse.”
It’s a legit lie to call out. As the Post notes, the Obama administration’s real goal number for Syrian refugees is 10,000. That is different from 250,000. But the headline is, “Mr. Trump spreads dangerous lies about Syrian refugees.” The numerical lie is dangerous mainly because of all the other lies Trump and most other Republican candidates are telling—like that Syrian refugees won’t be properly vetted (the process takes 18 to 24 months and no other group faces such extensive screening) or that Syrians are likely terrorists (they are mostly refugees from terror, and so far, half of the Syrian refugees to arrive in the United States have been children while another quarter have been over age 60).
The difference between 250,000 and 10,000 may be easier to pin down as a lie, but it’s a dangerous lie because its intent is to spread fear, and Trump is so far from alone among Republicans telling us to be afraid.
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