Last night, after at least two different Fox hosts promoted the ridiculous conspiracy theory that the FBI’s failure to properly follow up on warnings about Nikolas Cruz before he committed the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida last week was because the bureau was too busy with the Russia investigation, Donald Trump parroted the same baloney.
Apparently, Rush Limbaugh also used the talking point on his Friday show. So we can’t be certain Trump got the idea from Fox. But one thing is clear: They are all on the same page of gaslight. As I wrote yesterday, the FBI’s failure to properly follow up on a warning about Cruz happened in a Miami field office. In a bureau of more than 30,000 staffers, it’s impossible to believe that the Russia investigation, no matter how complicated, is the only thing the FBI is capable of working on. I seriously doubt even Limbaugh or any Fox host really thinks so.
Serial liar Trump, on the other hand…
Very sad that the FBI missed all of the many signals sent out by the Florida school shooter. This is not acceptable. They are spending too much time trying to prove Russian collusion with the Trump campaign - there is no collusion. Get back to the basics and make us all proud!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 18, 2018
(Donald Trump caricature by DonkeyHotey via Creative Commons license)