Ever eager to jump aboard the anti-Trump train, CNN rushed to condemn the president Tuesday morning for calling a terrorist attack…a terrorist attack.
Here’s how CNN's gaffe went down, in all its terribly embarrassing glory. A man crashed a car into security barriers outside of the UK’s Houses of Parliament early Tuesday morning, striking several victims on his way through Parliament Square and leaving three people injured, according to the BBC. Not long after the news broke, at 7:42 a.m. ET, President Trump condemned the “terrorist attack” by “crazy animals” in a tweet:
Another terrorist attack in London...These animals are crazy and must be dealt with through toughness and strength!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 14, 2018
CNN seized on the president’s statement, issuing their own critique – not of the attack itself, of course, but of the president’s choice verbiage.
President Donald Trump seizes on what he calls a "terrorist attack" in London, even though the incident is still in the early stages of investigation https://t.co/z2qEYHryeF pic.twitter.com/AatPX4wZsh
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) August 14, 2018
Unfortunately for CNN, some overeager intern must have forgotten to check the Associated Press’ Twitter feed before slamming Trump. Because it turns out that roughly two hours before Trump’s statement, at around 5:40 a.m., the AP had reported London officials were, in fact, treating the incident as – egads – a terrorist attack.
The Latest: Police treat London crash as terrorist incident. https://t.co/AWOhztVFrG
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 14, 2018
About an hour after that, London Mayor Sadiq Khan had also posted a tweet confirming London police were investigating a “terrorist act.”
A man has been arrested after a car was driven into barriers outside the Houses of Parliament. Police have confirmed that the incident is being treated as a terrorist act. All Londoners, like me, utterly condemn all acts of terrorism on our city. https://t.co/9gFu3HYtae
— Mayor of London (@MayorofLondon) August 14, 2018
Perhaps if CNN spent a little more energy on reporting the facts and a little less on condemning Trump's every statement, they'd end up with less proverbial egg on their faces. But then, we shouldn't hope for miracles.