​​

From PIX11
​"Trump did not cite any evidence to back up his claim [...]" 
​Mr. Trump "has also said – without any evidence – that widespread illegal voting cost him the popular vote in the election. Trump lost the popular vote by nearly 3 million people."

Martha MacCallum's interview with Stephen Miller on Fox News (21/2/2017).
​
​Miller: "Nothing was wrong with the first executive order. However, there was a flawed judicial ruling that was erroneous."
​[...]
MCCALLUM:  Let me note that -- because here's one of the problems.  Now, I know that you think the order was fine the way it was issued initially. But courts disagree.  In fact, 48 courts took issued with it and that's why it's halted right now as a result of that process that happens in this country. [...]

Miller: "The rulings from those courts were flawed, erroneous, and false. The President actions were clearly legal and constitutional."

​Transcript of the interview
​Video

Stephen Miller is a Senior Advisor to the President.
​

According to the Washington post, Mr. Trump made 140 false or misleading statements between Jan. 20 and today (Feb. 25). Though the interpretation of a misleading statement  is subjective, it is nevertheless worth to analyze.

​"Throughout President Trump’s first 100 days, the Fact Checker team will be tracking false and misleading claims made by the president since Jan. 20. "  Washington Post

Mr. Trump's tweet:
"The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!"

​Article  from The New York Times
By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM FEB. 17, 2017

​Excerpt:

[...] the language that Mr. Trump deployed on Friday is more typically used by leaders to refer to hostile foreign governments or subversive organizations. It also echoed the language of autocrats who seek to minimize dissent.

Child’s Play: Team Trump Rewrites a Department of Energy Website for Kids
Effort meant to inform younger generations about energy and the environment sees sentences reworked and pie charts eliminated.
by Patrick G. Lee
Propublica, Feb. 17, 2017, 8 a.m.
​
Some excerpts:
1.
On a page dedicated to coal, the following sentences [and charts] were deleted: “In the United States, most of the coal consumed is used as a fuel to generate electricity. Burning coal produces emissions that adversely affect the environment and human health.” The two pie charts that were axed showed that although coal generated only 42 percent of total U.S. electricity in 2014, it created 76 percent of total carbon dioxide emissions linked to electricity generation.

2.
“Underground mines have less of an impact on the environment compared to surface mines” became “Underground mines generally have a lesser effect on the landscape compared to surface mines.”

3.
On a separate kids’ page for greenhouse gases, a paragraph detailing the U.S. share of global carbon dioxide emissions was also deleted:
“The United States, with 4 percent of the world’s population, produced about 17 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels in 2011, the most recent year for which global data are available. The United States has the world’s largest economy and meets 83 percent of its energy needs by burning fossil fuels.”

"Alternative facts" is a term coined by U.S. Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway during a Meet the Press interview on January 22, 2017.  Even though "alternative facts" is an existing legal term, it is not a synonym for  "lie." According to  Merriam-Webster a lie is:
a :  an assertion of something known or believed by the speaker or writer to be untrue with intent to deceive
b :  an untrue or inaccurate statement that may or may not be believed true by the speaker or writer.

​What Sean Spicer presented  as facts during the press conference and was later defended by Ms. Conway as "alternative facts"  are lies according to the above definition, i.e. an untrue statement that may or may not be believed true by Mr. Spicer and Ms. Conway.

​Every administration provides untrue or inaccurate statements at some point. Usually, lies are made up to cover undergoing negotiations and secret information or to hide the mistakes of the administration.  "Team Trump" lies are of a different nature. Indeed, the "Team" deliberately and regularly deliver false statements and untrue facts (crowd size at inauguration, electoral frauds, historical win at the electoral college, calling substantiated information "fake news"...).  Through "alternative facts," the conscious and unconscious goal of the administration is to alter, discredit, minimize, or ignore:
1. scientific evidence,
​2. the judicial system,
3. substantiated news, and
​4. reality.

​This apolitical blog is my modest contribution to record the "alternative facts" presented by "Team Trump." I, as most academics, want the White House to stop the fight against facts,  quality journalism, and science. My wish is that the blog becomes obsolete as soon as possible.

​Note.: This blog is unrelated to SUNY Purchase and my work at SUNY Purchase.