General Mattis released what’s being called a ‘rare’ statement a few moments ago, shooting down NBC’s nuke story from this morning:
NEW: Unusual statement from SecDef Mattis, calling reports that Trump called for increase in nuclear arsenal "absolutely false" pic.twitter.com/bJupODMZaK
— Vera Bergengruen (@VeraMBergen) October 11, 2017
He didn’t just say it’s false, he called it irresponsible.
Trump also commented on it again, saying he never called for an increase in our nukes:
BREAKING: Pres. Trump: "It's disgusting" that the American press can "write whatever they want to write." https://t.co/3lEaJF2Xbk
— NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) October 11, 2017
I don’t think I’ve ever seen Trump more adamant about a story being false than this one.
Put that with the fact that Mattis is also shooting it down now, and there are few more credible than Mattis in the Trump administration. If Mattis calls it fake news – and he would know – that’s enough for me.
As a side note, this is how you handle Fake News. You don’t have to threaten to revoke the ‘license’ of a news organization.