White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Tuesday that the Trump administration released a list of 78 terror attacks that were underreported by the media to show “the Earth is a very dangerous place right now.”
The White House issued the list of attacks from 2014 to 2016 after Mr. Trump told U.S. troops Monday that the media had not sufficiently covered some of them, including shootings at a night club in Orlando, Florida, and at an office in San Bernardino, California.
Both of those attacks received saturated news coverage, while some others on the list with fewer casualties were not covered as widely.
“We were getting questions about the president’s remarks and wanted to be very clear there were a lot of examples between 2014 and 2016 that have occurred,” Mr. Spicer said. “It is becoming too often that we are seeing these attacks not get the spectacular attention they deserve. I think it undermines the understanding of the threat that we face around this country.”
The president’s spokesman said the administration wants “to remind people that the Earth is a very dangerous place these days, that [the Islamic State] is trying to do us harm, and that the president’s commitment is to keep the country safe.”
“I think part of this is to make sure the American people are reminded how prevalent some of these attacks are and how much time and attention they have or have not gotten, but more importantly to make sure that they understand the unwavering commitment that the president has, and the actions he will take, to keep the country safe,” he said.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.