Trump and MAGA are desperately trying to pin New Orleans attack on the border
The truck attack that killed 15 and injured dozens in New Orleans’ French Quarter early Wednesday morning has cast a pall over the dawn of the new year — but it hasn’t deterred President-elect Donald Trump and his sycophants from pushing misinformation to politicize the tragedy.
Trump responded to the attack on Wednesday by suggesting that Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the suspect in the mass murder who was killed by New Orleans law enforcement, was an undocumented migrant. Jabbar, 42, was a U.S.-born citizen and Army veteran, according to federal investigators.
“When I said that the criminals coming in are far worse than the criminals we have in our country, that statement was constantly refuted by Democrats and the Fake News Media, but it turned out to be true,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Our hearts are with all of the innocent victims and their loved ones, including the brave officers of the New Orleans Police Department. The Trump Administration will fully support the City of New Orleans as they investigate and recover from this act of pure evil!”
The post followed an erroneous report from Fox News — the right-wing propaganda network that consistently attempts to blame migrants and immigration for all manner of violence and social ills — that incorrectly asserted that the truck driven by Jabbar had crossed the Texas border from Mexico two days before that attack. The network corrected the claim later that day, noting that “the identification of the driver that crossed the border does not appear to be the shooter.”
By the time the correction was issued, the claim had already been picked up by Republican lawmakers, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). “New Orleans terrorist attacker is said to have come across the border in Eagle Pass TWO DAYS AGO!!! Shut the border down!!! Who did our government bomb lately that is taking it out on innocent Americans?” Greene wrote Wednesday in an X post that remains live despite the addition of a community note correcting the falsehood.
The attacker being identified as an American hasn’t stopped Trump and his allies from trying to blame the border, though. [Continue reading…]