When you’ve revolutionized the language by offering up “alternate facts” in your first week on the job, expectations are low. But it’s fair to say that Kellyanne Conway showed that there was no bar she couldn't crawl under.
"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 radicalized, and they were the masterminds behind the Bowling Green massacre. Most people don’t know that because it didn’t get covered."
That does sound surprising. And it is. First because there was never any ban on Iraqi refugees under Obama. Second, because there was no “Bowling Green massacre."
Though it's not clear that Conway is drawing on any real world events in her tale, there were in fact two Iraqis, Mohanad Hammadi and Waad Alwan, who were arrested in Bowling Green, Kentucky in 2012 after they were connected to insurgent activities in Iraq. The Obama administration toughened requirements on incoming refugees. Those steps slowed, but never halted, processing of refugees from Iraq. So this is a massacre where no one was hurt and a ban where no one was stopped.
The lack of press coverage of this non-event was so non-existent that people watching Conway were confused.
Tri-State residents, especially those living in Kentucky, might have responded to this claim with some confusion -- how could we not have heard about this? Even in the absence of mainstream news coverage, word travels, right? They weren't the only ones: More than 60,000 tweets about the incident were posted Thursday night, some of them equally bewildered. Why hadn't this event been covered?
The most terrifying thing about the Bowling Green massacre? By tomorrow, there will be thousands of Trump supporters who remember just where they were when they heard the news on that terrible day—if they can agree on what day that was.
Even if the two Iraqis arrested in Kentucky were the mustard.seed behind the redwood of a tale Conway produced, there's not much resemblance.
Neither man was linked to attacks or planned attacks within the United States. Both eventually pleaded guilty to terror charges -- Hammadi was sentenced to life in prison, and Alwan was sentenced to 40 years followed by lifetime supervised release, according to the Department of Justice.
Proponents of stronger checks on incoming refugees and immigrants might have an effective cautionary tale on their side in Bowling Green. However, claiming that a massacre took place there is untrue.
Untrue? Isn't that a little harsh? Isn't this just quasi-genuine? Or pseudo-legitimate? It’s not like the Trump regime is justifying its entire policy with a stinking pile off bullshit.
Or wait. That's an actual fact.