Following the bombing in Manhattan that injured 29 people, Donald Trump bragged that he called the explosion a "bombing" before the explosion was actually confirmed to be a bomb. "What I said was exactly correct," Trump told Fox News on Monday, "I should be a newscaster because I called it before the news."
This isn't the first time Trump has bragged about himself when discussing tragedies. Earlier this summer, following the deadliest mass shooting in American history, Trump tweeted a widely-denounced humble brag about "being right on radical Islamic terrorism."
Initially, Donald Trump was criticized for calling the explosion a "bomb" at his rally in Colorado. At the time, the "possible explosion" wasn't confirmed to actually be a bomb. As CNN points out, "Trump made the statement before local officials had publicly confirmed details of the incident or what caused the explosion. Typically, national political figures use caution when describing unfolding situations and law enforcement actions."
Notably, as Trump pointed out to Fox and Friends, Hillary Clinton also used the word "bombings" when she spoke to reporters on her campaign plane about two hours after the explosion, saying that she had "been briefed about bombings in New York and New Jersey." However, CNN edited out Clinton's use of the word when they showed the clip, according to The Hill.
This, Trump argued, is evidence of a "rigged system" and that "the news is as dishonest as anybody there is." He told Fox and Friends, "I heard—I didn't see it—but I heard I was criticized for calling it correctly." On the other hand, he explained, "Hillary Clinton used the word ‘bombs’ shortly thereafter and nobody said anything about it. And somebody said some of them edit that word out. They took it out." Why would the media do this? According to Trump, "The reason is because my poll numbers now are so good that they're so worried."
The Guardian reports Clinton said on Monday she doesn't "want to speculate" about the attacks, but, she said, "We know a lot of the rhetoric from Donald Trump has been seized on by terrorists." Clinton argued that Trump's rhetoric, like ISIS, tries to "turn it into a religious conflict." She, on the other hand, isn't going to give ISIS "exactly what it's wanting." Clinton dismissed Trump's "demagogic" point that she and President Barack Obama are responsible for ISIS. Clinton countered that, according to former CIA chief Michael Hayden, Trump's rhetoric is offering "aid and comfort to our adversaries."
