Question for the news editors at the major networks. If you knew then what we know now about the Gulf of Tonkin incident, would you have broadcast this speech live? I think the answer is probably, "no way." Just keep that in mind tomorrow.
For those unfamiliar with this incident, it was the "attack" that LBJ used to justify ramping up US involvement in Vietnam. Later it became clear that LBJ's account of the attack was greatly distorted with the intent to deceive the American people. usni.org/magazines/nava…
Trump is slow walking the nation into Gulf of Tonkin redux to justify taking on unconstitutional, emergency powers...the media's job is to report the truth, not amplify lies. #BoycottTrumpsAddress #BoycottTrumpSpeech
Annnnnd, of course, the networks buckled. There better be some seriously robust, real-time fact checking involved.
The irony, of course, is that, should Trump take on the sort of emergency powers he wants, those outlets will be targeted for even more forceful attacks, if not shut down entirely.
