President Donald Trump greeted FBI Director James Comey at a reception for first responders Sunday, but by reading the Twitter feeds of many prominent journalists one would think Trump blew Comey a kiss.
The author of an anti-Trump book, Richard Hine, spread the misinformation that Trump blew Comey a kiss by using a video of Trump greeting Comey without audio of the encounter.
WATCH:
Trump just literally blew a kiss to James Comey at a WH reception for law enforcement pic.twitter.com/HwVq9DNdZd
— Richard Hine (@richardhine) January 22, 2017
The audio of Trump greeting Comey clearly shows that Trump is saying “James,” and not blowing the FBI director a kiss.
WATCH:
Here’s the video. Looks to me more like a backslapping handshake + a close-in whisper. https://t.co/xjifmZKPOZ https://t.co/sS3V4QyXVk
— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) January 22, 2017
This did not matter, however, for the several journalists who spread the lie that Trump blew Comey a kiss.
Newsweek senior writer Kurt Eichenwald retweeted ThinkProgress Editor-in-Chief Judd Legum
New Yorker contributing writer Ben Taub
The Times Washington bureau chief Rhys Blakely
Slate writer Mark Joseph Stern
New Republic editor Jeet Heer
Upworthy writer Parker Molloy and Vox writer Matthew Yglesias
Washington Post columnist Gene Weingarten
BuzzFeed world news editor Hayes Brown
ThinkProgress justice editor Ian Millhiser
New York magazine writer-at-large Jessie Singal
GQ special correspondent Keith Olbermann