Jeb Bush is being raked over the media coals for supposedly expressing a callous disregard for the Oregon mass shooting victims by saying “stuff happens.”
But those words in a long dialogue were taken completely out of context and promoted by New Yorker reporter Ryan Lizza. It was then picked up by others in the media based on Lizza’s tweet about it, which was shared over 1000 times on Twitter.
Here’s how it went down.
Former Governor Jeb Bush was questioned about Thursday’s UCC tragic shooting during a press conference held Friday afternoon. Ryan Lizza, a reporter for the New Yorker and CNN contributor pulled two little words from Bush’s answer, pretended they were indicative of Bush’s statement as a whole, and then kept digging.
Lizza tweeted:
Taken as Lizza presented, Bush sounds dismissive at best. “Stuff happens”? Really?! Dude shoots up a school and all Jeb can muster is “stuff happens”?!?!
Thankfully, we don’t have to take Lizza’s word for it. Video of Bush’s full remarks place “stuff happens” in context. There, those two little words are perfectly acceptable.
And the transcription of the full quote:
The most damning part of StuffGate is not anything Bush said — it’s Lizza’s determination to twist “stuff happens” into a gaffe that never was. Video shows Lizza pressing the issue with Bush, despite Bush’s continued explanation of his full remarks:
Of course, Lizza kept digging.
Worse yet, the normally reliable Jonathan Karl of ABC News raised the issue at Obama’s press conference. Karl gave a little more context, but not much, so now it is all over the media and dominating the news cycle:
Fortunately, there is a lot of pushback, which is needed.
Whether you like or hate Jeb Bush, or someplace in between, we can’t stand for these media hit jobs on any of our candidates. If they’re distorting Bush today, tomorrow it will be someone you might like more.
The media is the problem. And it’s only going to get worse.
Follow Kemberlee on Twitter @kemberleekaye
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