Drew Holden Profile picture
Sep 15, 2020 27 tweets 21 min read Read on X
🧵Thread🧵

With peace breaking out across the Middle East, I figured it would be a good time to revisit all of the people who told us confidently that @realDonaldTrump was leading us to disaster.

I think some apologies are in order. What say you, @SamanthaJPower? ImageImage
You see, there were many, many Democratic politicians who assured us the world would be ending before our eyes, and that it would be @realDonaldTrump’s fault.

That includes presidential nominee @JoeBiden and his functional head of policy, @ewarren. Image
They weren’t alone. I wonder if we’ll be getting any follow up to this one from @SenSchumer? Image
Or perhaps @BernieSanders would like to follow up on this? ImageImage
Maybe we can get some sort of comment from @repmarkpocan? ImageImage
Their friends across the pond didn’t fair much better. You all surely remember @jeremycorbyn? ImageImage
And, well, yeah. @khamenei_ir, not so much on this one. Credit for @Reuters for getting his perspective though.

They also managed to hear what Hezbollah had to say about American foreign policy. ImageImage
The rest of the media wasn’t far behind. My two favorite come from the alchemic field of “media analysis” at @CNN.

Also, heaven forbid that third frame should happen! ImageImageImageImage
@NewYorker really went in on this one. ImageImage
Tough couple of weeks for @TheAtlantic. Image
I’ll pause here to note that I did a whole separate thread specific to the Jerusalem embassy move.

Many of the same voices (go figure) but also a special shout out to @JohnKerry.
Anyway, back to the media. Here we’ve got @AP. Image
The condescending smart people magazines got in on the mix too.

Here’s @ForeignPolicy and @EconUS. ImageImage
@guardian went in really hard on this one. ImageImage
So too did...@VanityFair?

Yeah, I’m as confused as you are. Image
Running low on patience, space, and mental well-being, so to close out the media - and get to the REAL stars of the show - we have:

@lawfareblog (?)
@business
@NBCNews
@SkyNews (wtf?) ImageImageImageImage
But the real winners here are the bluechecks. Perhaps no one has been as consistently wrong as our cadre of Middle East “experts” in recent memory.

Here’s an illustrative example from @aarondmiller2. Image
You had to know that Obama’s favorite MFA @brhodes was gonna have some bad takes on this one.

He didn’t disappoint. ImageImageImageImage
And speaking of Obama bros with bad opinions, here’s @TVietor08 with a commendable four-box entry of his own. ImageImageImageImage
Speaking of four box entries, here’s your obligatory @SethAbramson mention. ImageImageImageImage
Just VINTAGE @JRubinBlogger here. ImageImage
“Doomed” was apparently the world of the day on this one. In retrospect, that isn’t exactly looking spot on.

Here we have:
@CNASdc
@ilangoldenberg
@nahaltoosi
@rulajebreal ImageImage
Oh and pity the think tanks, they’ve had a tough go on this one. Here are @amprog, @BrookingsInst, and @IPS_DC. ImageImageImage
You couldn’t have thought that @MaxBoot, who’s never seen a Middle Eastern war he isn’t interested in, wouldn’t find a way onto this list.

But did you expect the entire @washingtonpost editorial board to make it? Oh, you did? ImageImageImage
I’ve said it before and I’m sure I’ll have to say it again. All of these people have gotten an enormous number of calls & predictions wrong, time and again, for generations.

Maybe it’s time we stopped to think about what that should mean for our trust in their future ideas?
Anyway, I don’t have anything to sell/subscribe to, but I do these threads often, so throw me a follow.

On the topic of the ME, please don’t forget that Christian persecution remains prevalent. Lots of good orgs are helping & need support, including: christiansatrisk.org/en/donate.html
Just dropping back by to remind you that no class of “experts” has shown themselves more bereft of expertise than those who handle foreign policy.

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More from @DrewHolden360

Oct 14
Quick 🧵thread🧵

With the news that Trump freed the hostages and brokered an Israel/Hamas ceasefire, I thought it would be a good time to check in on the folks who compared the president to Hitler over the last few years, for reasons that I hope are obvious to you.

Remember? ⤵️
You may think the “Trump is literally Hitler” phrase is just a silly joke.

But for years, media outlets and left-wing voices on the internet have insisted that, no, really, Trump is just like Hitler.

Few have done so with as much gusto as @CNN. Image
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Back in 2016, @CNN alleged that Trump rallies were just like Hitler rallies because…Trump had attendees raise their right hands.

That’s what inspired this headline. Image
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Read 24 tweets
Oct 8
🧵THREAD🧵

A newly declassified CIA report on Joe Biden & Ukraine blows the doors off claims from the legacy press, in the lead up to the 2020 election and beyond, that Trump was pushing a “conspiracy theory” about Biden’s corruption.

Remember how the press buried Burisma? ⤵️
First, the facts. The report unearths how Biden blocked the release of intel from Ukrainian sources validating allegations of bribery tied to Biden’s diplomatic push to oust a prosecutor there in 2015, tied to his son Hunter’s work with the gas company Burisma.

More details:
You may remember this story because Biden’s having helped oust a prosecutor in a foreign country to allegedly protect his family’s corruption came up in the 2020 election.

To hear @ABC tell it, that was a “debunked Ukraine conspiracy theory.”

Perhaps a good time to revisit? Image
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Read 24 tweets
Oct 2
🧵Thread🧵

The media are melting down about former FBI director Jim Comey’s indictment, calling it Trump’s “retribution.”

But if prosecuting a political rival is such an outrage, why’d they cheer along when Biden went after Trump, Bannon & Navarro?

Some side-by-sides ⤵️
I want you to help me spot the difference in tone.

With Comey, @CNN put five — five! — reporters on the byline to declare the indictment was an “escalation” in “Trump’s effort to prosecute his political enemies.”

Where was that when Biden’s DOJ indicted Bannon? “A victory” Image
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And @CNN wasn’t any better on Peter Navarro, another Trump aide indicted under Biden.

Rather than an “effort to prosecute…political enemies,” CNN quoted the prosecutor to tell the story.

Why is the claim of the government the framing of the piece under Biden? I have a guess. Image
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Read 24 tweets
Sep 18
🧵Thread🧵

The outrage over Kimmel’s canning is incredibly stupid, but it’s also enormously rich coming from the same media outlets who have cheered the government actually censoring people, particularly during COVID.

Let me know if you can spot the difference in tone? ⤵️
This @CNN headline made me think this story needed a thread.

Kimmel’s suspension is “straight from a European strongman’s playbook,” per @CNN’s @brianstelter.

When Biden cracked down on free speech during Covid, CNN hyped up the effort. Image
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Few promoted the government’s actual attack on free speech more aggressively than the same @brianstelter now calling a comedian’s shelving evidence of autocracy, or something. Image
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Read 18 tweets
Sep 3
🧵Thread🧵

I know there’s a lot going on but we just had a media conspiracy implode that I think captures something important about the corporate press.

Did you hear about how Trump was allegedly going after John Bolton as retribution for his criticism?

Well…follow along ⤵️
We saw a week straight of media suggestions that Trump was abusing the powers of the state to deal out “retribution” to John Bolton following the news that the FBI (“Trump’s DOJ!” headlines rang out) raided his house.

We were in “unsettling” times, to hear @nytimes tell it. Image
The *Editorial Board* at @nytimes put out an even more dramatic statement, asking who Trump’s next payback victim after Bolton would be.

They dubbed the raid “revenge.”

Democracy was in truly troubled waters. Image
Read 24 tweets
Aug 26
🧵Thread🧵

A single poll has bootstrapped a media narrative that DC residents are outraged by Trump’s takeover.

I poked around the cross tabs of the poll — of 600 or so of DC’s more comfortable residents — and I think it’s pretty suspect.

How come? Follow along: ⤵️
Let’s start with the poll. The @washingtonpost talked to 604 people, of whom 90% — 90%! — self-described as living in “very good” or “good” neighborhoods.

So, fine. 80% of people who like where they live in DC are upset. Image
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But even beyond that, it’s worth asking whether this poll really captures DC’s opinion.

In the poll, only 31% describe crime as a “serious” or “very serious” problem in DC.

When @washingtonpost asked this same question in May, *50%* said it was a serious problem.

What gives? Image
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Read 26 tweets

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