Two Pinocchios for MSM oversimplified "narratives" giving Trump ammo

Yes, it's true, as NBC reported, and the Washington Post last fall trotted out with its four Pinocchios, and that Politifact scored as "mostly false" when President Trump made a similar claim at that time, that Hillary Clinton didn't give Russia 20 percent of American uranium.

But, in the MSM's attempt to nail Trump's hide to its wall, it's engaging in oversimplified narratives.

The reality, as also portrayed in the MSM, namely the New York Times, is a bit more complex.

First, it's nit-picking, IMO, to call out Trump for not distinguishing between 20 percent of uranium and 20 percent of uranium capacity, which is what Uranium One, the company now majority-owned by the Russian government, actually got.

Second, no, the State Department — then led by Hillary Clinton, of course — wasn't the only federal agency that had to sign off on the deal.

Third, promises made related to the deal have been broken since then.

Fourth, Uranium One agents have donated to the Clinton Foundation since the deal was approved.

Fifth, the idea that this particular deal wouldn't have been brought to the attention of the leaders of the nine federal agencies involved challenges credulity.

Whether the Rosatom deal is as of as much concern as some national security analysts claim may be debatable. (Whether it shows the venality and the "is"-type lying of the Clinton Foundation and its principals is another issue.) But, let's debate it without playing "gotcha" on every Trump statement. There are enough where that can be legitimately done without stretching narratives.

So, we're dividing those four Pinocchios in half. Two for Trump, two for the MSM.

Beyond that, over at Puff Hoes, Jason Linkins offers more examples — above all, the use of the National Guard to round up Ill Eaglez — on how the MSM must correctly dot i's and cross t's with Team Trump.