The week in whoppers: The Atlantic glazes ‘centrist’ Mamdani, Obama goes to bat for Ilhan Omar and more
Diary of disturbing disinformation and dangerous delusions
This headline
“Mamdani Is the Centrist We’ve Been Waiting For” — Jonathan Chait’s Atlantic column, Monday
We say: More like the extremist we can’t get rid of soon enough: Mamdani, a radical antisemitic socialist, is about as far from the political center as you can get . . . . unless your “center” is as far to the left as The Atlantic’s.
This charge
“Government can’t selectively target individuals because of their political beliefs . . . But that’s exactly what the Trump administration is doing to [Ilhan Omar].” — President Barack Obama, Sunday
We say: That’s rich coming from the guy whose team targeted Donald Trump with the Russia hoax. In fact, a Democratic judge OK’d the FBI search of Omar’s home in an investigation that began under Joe Biden. As Omar herself said of indicting Trump, “Our democracy rests on the rule of law. When someone . . . is suspected of a criminal act, our justice system investigates.”
This assertion
“[ICE action] is in itself a violation of our Constitution on the basis of where someone was born.” — Darializa Avila Chevalier, Monday
We say: What stunning cluelessness from a woman likely to hold a House seat come January. Nothing in the Constitution prohibits the government from exercising immigration powers and deporting noncitizens. Indeed, Article I, Section 8 gives Congress the power to “establish a uniform rule of naturalization,” and the Supreme Court has reaffirmed the government’s “plenary power” to enforce immigration policy.
These claims
“The occupation is a crime under international law. Harvesting olives isn’t a crime under any law I know.” — former city Comptroller Brad Lander, Wednesday
We say: Brad’s 0 for 2. The notion that Israel is committing a “crime under international law” by occupying “foreign” land exists only as a fantasy endlessly repeated by the Jewish state’s haters. And Lander wasn’t briefly questioned for “harvesting olives” but because he was part of a group that failed to coordinate its activities in a sensitive area with Israeli officials.
— Compiled by The Post Editorial Board