Media coverage on Trump’s PTSD comments doesn’t reflect reality

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has said plenty of questionable, controversial, unpredictable and/or misleading things during this marathon of a campaign. And there’s never a shortage of material to work with when slamming those comments (and tweets) if you’re a reporter/columnist/host/pundit covering this campaign.

{mosads}But the outrage du jour on Trump’s post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) comments during an event with a veterans group on Monday is decidedly not one of those moments.

Before continuing, a quick review by presenting Trump’s words verbatim in their entirety per Time magazine’s transcript:

QUESTION FROM VETERAN IN AUDIENCE: “Good morning Mr. Trump. As you mentioned there is a tragic suicide epidemic among our veterans, among our military and their families. While the military and the VA are working on the problem, their efforts continue to fall short. There are a number of faith-based programs outside the DOD and the VA, that are continuing to be successful in stopping suicide and divorce rates.

“Spiritual fitness works on these types of problems. The government is not taking advantage of these programs and services. So my question for you is, when you become president, will you support and fund a more holistic approach to solve the problems and issues of veteran suicide, PTSD, TBI and other related military mental and behavioral health issues and will you take steps to restore the historic role of our chaplains and the importance of spiritual fitness and spiritual resiliency programs?”

TRUMP: “Yes I would. Look we need that so badly and when you…

(APPLAUSE)

“When you talk about the mental health problems, when people come back from war and combat and they see things that maybe a lot of the folks in this room have seen many times over and you’re strong and you can handle it. But a lot of people can’t handle it. And they see horror stories. They see events that you couldn’t see in a movie, nobody would believe it.

“Now we need a mental health help and medical. And it’s one of the things that I think is least addressed and is one of the things that — like your question — one of the things that I hear the most about when I go around and talk to the veterans. So we’re going to have a very, very robust, level of performance having to do with mental health. We are losing so many great people that can be taken care of if they have proper care.

“You know when you hear the 22 suicides a day it’s a big part of your question. But when you hear the 22 suicides a day that should never be. That should never be. So we’re going to be addressing that very strongly and the whole mental health issue is going to be a very important issue when I take over and the V.A. is going to be fixed in so many ways but that’s going to be one of the ways we’re going to help.

“And that’s in many respects going to be the number one thing we have to do. Because I think it’s really been left behind. OK? Thank you very much.”

So upon reading that, two choices:

Is Trump demeaning those with PTSD by saying those suffering from it are weak?

Before answering, know this: The veterans group Trump was addressing applauded the comments. No one reportedly got up and walked out or booed. The Hill’s Jonathan Easley reported that the comments were “received warmly.”

If Trump’s comment was that offensive, wouldn’t the audience make that known in some capacity? And if they didn’t respond in the moment, what about on Twitter or in an interview with the plenty of reporters who were around afterward?

Or…

Was Trump simply saying that some people can somehow work through an issue like this on their own while others understandably need proper care/assistance from a healthcare system for vets that few would argue isn’t badly broken?

It seems that logic no longer applies in coverage of this election. Unhinged and/or willful ignorance is the only description that comes to mind, particularly upon seeing these misleading headlines from these outlets:

BuzzFeed’s Ema O’Connor: “Trump suggests that soldiers with PTSD aren’t ‘strong’”

New York Daily News’s Cameron Joseph and Nancy Dillon: “Donald Trump sparks outrage by suggesting vets with PTSD aren’t ‘strong’ and ‘can’t handle it’”

The Huffington Post’s Alana Horowitz Satlin: “Biden puts Trump to shame with heartbreaking story of one vet’s PTSD”

Politico’s Nolan D. McCaskill: “Trump appears to suggest veterans with PTSD are not ‘strong’”

The Daily Beast’s Tim Mak: “Draft-dodger Trump implies PTSD sufferers are weak”

Again, with an objective mind, go back and read Trump’s comments verbatim and then read these kind of headlines again. Do the two narratives really match up?

One other note: Do you know what all of those stories from BuzzFeed, New York Daily News, The Huffington Post, Politico and The Daily Beast have in common?

Not one presents the comments in full starting with the question by a veteran in the audience and ending with Trump’s entire answer. Not one. Instead, out-of-full-context sentences are quoted to shape the desired narrative instead.  

Trump says or does certain things that deserve criticism and scrutiny, as does Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. No sane person witnessing this election can deny that.

But when the media becomes so hellbent on twisting every comment to fit a narrative, seemingly every utterance is in play. And for all the wrong reasons.

An Associated Press survey from April says “just 6 percent of people say they have a lot of confidence in the media.”

Not 60.

Not even 16.

Just 6 percent.

Monday’s latest example is just one more reason why.

Concha is a media reporter for The Hill.

The views expressed by Contributors are their own and are not the views of The Hill.