Trump Fabricates Shootings During Obama Speech

As Trump has said, the level of violence in Chicago is through the roof. Last month, they had 40 murders in 22 days. 6 people were shot at a memorial for another victim of the gun violence on Wednesday. Despite last years spike in the murder rate, this year has gotten off to an even more violent start, with more murders-to-date than the city had seen in nearly 20 years. It's sad to see what is going on there, and President Trump has even talked about sending federal law enforcement to clean the mess up. One would think that with all of this violence and mayhem, the President wouldn't feel the need to invent murders that didn't happen. One would be wrong.

During President Trump's interview with David Muir of ABC, he made the following claim about President Obama's farewell address in Chicago.

"So, look, when President Obama was there two weeks ago making a speech, very nice speech, two people were shot and killed during his speech. You can't have that. They weren't shot at the speech. But they were shot in the city of Chicago during his speech. What — what's going on?"

The remarks were in the un-aired portion of the interview, but they appeared in the transcript posted by ABC, who later confirmed the remarks to the Chicago Tribune, who added the following commentary.

According to the Tribune database, the city had no slayings for about 24 hours before and after Obama's speech, which lasted from 8:02 to 8:53 p.m. A man was shot about 20 minutes after the speech about eight miles away in the West Side's Lawndale neighborhood, but that victim survived, according to Police Department data.

More "alternative facts" from the President and his Administration. For those who would attack me for pointing it out, let me establish that I'm being completely fair with President Trump here. He was also attacked by the mayor of Philadelphia for the following statement.

"Here in Philadelphia the murder rate has been steady, I mean just terribly increasing,"

Mayor Kenney replied...

"Trump's false statements today were an insult to the men and women of the Philadelphia police force-the very same men and women who are working long hours today to ensure his safety."

However, taking Trump at his words, his statement wasn't necessarily wrong. While the murder rate dropped in Philadelphia in 2016, it was a marginal drop, and there has been a 37% increase in homicides YTD from last year. Thus, while President Trump's statements might be a bit dramatic, they aren't false or a lie. He is accurate that the rate has risen in the first 2 months of the year. "Terribly" would be a matter of opinion, and when we're talking about human lives, it certainly could be seen as a fair assessment.