It is, of course, terribly beta these days to exercise rhetorical caution before jumping to conclusions and labeling crimes, no matter how heinous, acts of terrorism. It is the politically correct folks who won’t man up and call it like they see it—as fast as they possibly can. Shots are fired and smoke billows above a casino in the Philippines; we all know what’s happening here, the nonsnowflakes mutter under their breath and shout at the top of their lungs on Twitter. It’s well-known on the internet that only the pointy-head experts among us wait for the police report, read the police report, and then believe what they’ve read. Hannity’s America just knows better. And Donald Trump knows best. They’re real Americans, after all. They know everything.
On Thursday, Donald Trump sent shockwaves of news around the world with his decision to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord. Trump also made news in another sense, at the top of his speech he informed the world that there had been a terror attack in the Philippines.
Thank you very much. Thank you. I would like to begin by addressing the terrorist attack in Manila. We’re closely monitoring the situation, and I will continue to give updates, anything happens during this period of time, but it is really very sad as to what’s going on throughout the world with terror. Our thoughts and our prayers are with all of those affected.
It’s unclear where Trump got his information. According to CNN, “[s]hortly after Trump’s comment, Philippines national police chief Gen. Dela Rosa said the shooting incident at a Manila resort was an attempt by a lone thief to rob gamblers rather than a terrorist attack.”
This is probably a good opportunity to remind ourselves—you, me, and everyone we know—that we don’t always know better; we don’t know what’s happening halfway around the world better than the people who are there dealing with it, and to give them five minutes before we start launching tweets—or missiles—in response. Because the president can do both.
