In an effort to justify the ban on immigration from Muslim-majority countries signed off on by President Trump, chief Trump spokesperson Kellyanne Conway on Thursday presented a set of “alternative facts,” referencing a supposed terrorist attack in Bowling Green, Kentucky committed by Iraqi refugees.
Conway insisted that “most people don’t know [about it] because it didn’t get covered,” despite the reality that “most people” don’t know about it because it never happened.
It seems most likely that Conway was referring to the case of two Iraqi refugees, Waad Ramadan Alwan and Mohanad Shareef Hammadi, who in 2011 were arrested in Bowling Green, Kentucky for allegedly plotting to send money and weapons to insurgents in Iraq. Additionally, the FBI’s discovery of their fingerprints on roadside bombs detonated in 2005 exposed a problem with the refugee screening process at the time, leading the Obama administration to approve a new review of all roughly 57,000 Iraqi refugees who had been recently admitted into the United States.
Conway is already well known for her use of the term “alternative facts” in her defense of press secretary Sean Spicer‘s provably false claims that Trump’s inauguration was the most widely attended in history. The ease with which she stated that a terrorist attack took place in Bowling Green, Kentucky, while also lying that the Obama administration had not instated a more careful screening process but an outright ban on Iraqi refugees does nothing to improve her reputation for dishonesty.
Fortunately for anyone seeking comedic relief from all the cringe of today’s politics, Twitter responded appropriately:
Kellyanne Conway's comment about the #BowlingGreenMassacre was disrespectful to all who died that day, myself included.
— Peter M. Sullivan 🇺🇲🇮🇪🇺🇦 (@CitizenSullivan) February 3, 2017
More people were killed in the Bowling Green Massacre than were killed in the Battle of Gettysburg. Period #BowlingGreenMassacre pic.twitter.com/NstplN0kOR
— Sean Spicer Facts (@SeanSpicerFacts) February 3, 2017
https://twitter.com/JasonKirkSBN/status/827515107194335233
Finding these Bowling Green Massacre jokes to be a little too soon. Out of respect, we should wait until it takes place.
— Justin Shanes (@justinshanes) February 3, 2017
Kellyanne Conway's comment about the #BowlingGreenMassacre was disrespectful to all who died that day, myself included.
— Peter M. Sullivan 🇺🇲🇮🇪🇺🇦 (@CitizenSullivan) February 3, 2017
The Bowling Green Massacre is an alternative fact.
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) February 3, 2017
Here are all the names of the people that perished in the Bowling Green Massacre. May they Rest In Peace pic.twitter.com/vB3k6vNz2y
— Sam Zee (@SamZComedy) February 3, 2017
RT if you died in the Bowling Green Massacre.
— Alex Amadeo (@agamadeo) February 3, 2017
How do we change our profile pictures to support the victims of the #BowlingGreenMassacre?
— Jay Kuo (@nycjayjay) February 3, 2017
Trump is already fundraisin' off the #BowlingGreenMassacre. pic.twitter.com/O19rOTzqb2
— Tea Pain (@TeaPainUSA) February 3, 2017
Islington remembers the #BowlingGreenMassacre pic.twitter.com/HwaWNtQqMa
— FelicitySpector (@FelicitySpector) February 3, 2017
https://twitter.com/MichaelBeeman/status/827379763270475776
And, on a more serious note, this one plea for honesty and morality by former first daughter Chelsea Clinton:
Very grateful no one seriously hurt in the Louvre attack …or the (completely fake) Bowling Green Massacre. Please don't make up attacks.
— Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) February 3, 2017
Leave a Reply