Brutal fact-check exposes latest Trump backer as defense witness for George Floyd's killer
A retired police officer who took the stand to defend George Floyd killer Derek Chauvin is the latest to publicly back Trump in a campaign ad — the content of which was pulled apart in a fact-check Monday.
Scott Creighton told the jury that convicted Chauvin of the 2020 killing how he’d arrested Floyd less than a year before, and described him as ‘uncompliant” — a claim that was not backed up by body-cam footage that shows Floyd shouting “Don’t shoot me, man!” and Creighton cursing at him.
In the campaign ad released by the pro-Trump Preserve America PAC last week, Creighton describes having teeth knocked out by a brick in the protests that followed Floyd’s death and blames Kamala Harris, saying she encouraged the unrest.
“What did Kamala Harris do?” he asks in the ad.
“While America’s cities were burning, Kamala was defending peaceful protests. She raised millions to help bail rioters out of jail. And supported defunding our police, making us all less safe. Kamala Harris is dangerous.”
But the Washington Post fact-check told a different story.
“These types of ads can be effective because personal testimony seems authentic,” wrote Glenn Kessler. “But … Creighton makes misleading claims about Harris. The ad also does not mention that he was the first defense witness to testify for police officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted of murdering Floyd and sentenced to 22-and-a-half years in prison.”
The Post reported that Preserve America didn’t respond to requests for comment and Creighton couldn’t be contacted.
The fact-check hits the ex-cop’s attacks on Harris as telling “half the story.”
“Creighton ignores that Harris condemned the riots, even as she said people had a right to peacefully protest,” Kessler wrote.
He went on, “We couldn’t find a specific statement by Harris on the violence in Minneapolis, or even the protests, but she did have one tweet that is referenced in Creighton’s next statement. ‘She raised millions to help bail rioters out of jail.’
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“This cannot be verified.”
The writer also criticized the claim that Harris supported defunding police.
“This is mostly false,” the fact-checker wrote.
“Harris, a former prosecutor, never supported the “defund the police” movement, though she called for “reimagining public safety” in the United States.”
Kessler concluded, “Creighton certainly is an interesting choice to be a spokesman about the violent aftermath that resulted from Floyd’s murder. His message is also flawed.
“He says she defended peaceful protests — which are protected by law — but fails to mention she condemned the violence. He makes an unverified claim that she raised millions to bail rioters out of jail. It’s unclear how much of the money that was raised could be attributed to her — and in any case, few people arrested needed to put up money.
“Finally, he says she supported the “defund the police” movement. She never embraced it, instead saying the movement raised good questions about how public safety could be best achieved.
“Overall, the ad earns Three Pinocchios.”