The Parkland shooting, like so many others before it, has unleashed a lot of emotions. And that’s understandable. But too many people mistake emotional arguments for factual ones. Jimmy Kimmel is one of those people. And last night, he lashed out at Donald Trump and Republicans for failing to “do something” about gun violence:
Yes @RealDonaldTrump, it is time to do something about school shootings… https://t.co/9k0KDim7KG pic.twitter.com/DB2MxjhPRO
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) February 16, 2018
For Jimmy Kimmel, “doing something” apparently means pushing a blatantly dishonest narrative about Trump and Republicans wanting to make it easier for the mentally ill to get guns.
“You like to say this is a mental health issue, but one of your very first acts as president, Mr. Trump, was to actually roll back the regulations that were designed to keep firearms out of the hands of the mentally ill. You did that. Your party voted to repeal the mandates on coverage for mental health. So I agree, this is a mental illness issue, because if you don’t think we need to do something about it, you’re obviously mentally ill.”
Of course he got lots of applause for that line. Never mind that he was lying.
And once again you blatantly lie to your audience. POTUS repealed an order prohibiting people that receive a disability check to help with their finances from gun ownership. You owe an apology to people that receive those checks b/c u called them all mentally ill which is untrue.
— J (@LibCelebs) February 16, 2018
@ABC @CBSNews @NBCNews @jimmykimmel @CNN are lying about @realDonaldTrump making it easier for "the mentally ill" to get guns. The @ACLU supported this legislation as well and they all know it. https://t.co/hSrudmTmPO is the truth. Don't be duped by the liars.
— Joe Pags Pagliarulo (@JoeTalkShow) February 16, 2018
Jimmy Kimmel, just like anyone else, has the right to his beliefs. But if he’s going to use his enormous platform to willfully spread misinformation in order to push a political agenda, he’d better be prepared to get called out for it — and be ready to answer for his lies.
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