The Republican National Committee (RNC) jumped to brand Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) a “scumbag” after falsely alleging he “didn’t mention the wildfires” in Los Angeles once during his primetime interview on MSNBC – except he did, for almost six-minutes, during the opening segment of his interview.
As wildfires continue to destroy neighborhoods in Southern California, Schiff appeared on The ReidOut with host Joy Reid on Wednesday to discuss several topics through a number of show segments but opened with a six-minute conversation about the fires and their impact.
Schiff relayed his concern about the conditions that were aiding the fires, praised emergency workers and detailed what the government was doing to help constituents.
This is, I think the worst fire disaster that I can recall in the southern half of our state. But we are getting help from other states. We are getting help from other parts of California, and still, firefighters are really stretched thin. They are exhausted. Got off the phone just an hour ago with the L.A. County fire chief and thanked him for what his department is doing. I think I speak for all of us when I express the gratitude for those folks who are putting themselves in harms way but it’s just brutal to realize how many people are displaced…They are going to need help from a Democratic president, a Republican president. I know Senator Padilla and I are determined to do everything we can
to make sure they get the resources they need. Governor Newsom the same. We are committed to all of our constituents regardless of party.
After the appearance, however, the RNC Research account on X, also managed by President-elect Donald Trump’s team, deceptively presented a clip from a later portion of the interview — during which Schiff talked about Attorney General Merrick Garland’s intent to release the first part the special counsel report investigating Trump’s actions after losing the 2020 election. The account framed Schiff’s interview as having been focused entirely on attacking Trump, without mentioning the earlier segment which was all about the wildfires.
“California Senator Adam Schiff (aka Pencil Neck) just did a six-minute primetime interview on MSDNC. He didn’t mention the wildfires currently plaguing his state ONCE — he just ranted about President Trump. What a scumbag,” the post read.
(Screengrab via X)
The falsehood, after pulling 98,000 views, was then copied and pushed out online by several other big MAGA-aligned accounts and Republican organizations located in different states.
Over 14 hours later the
Watch above via MSNBC.