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21 Jan, 2019 20:05

Missing in action: Supporters blast Trump for silence on Covington Catholic kids

Missing in action: Supporters blast Trump for silence on Covington Catholic kids

False accusations of racism and abuse against boys from a Kentucky Catholic high school – only because they wore MAGA hats – have spurred many supporters of President Donald Trump to action, but the POTUS himself has been missing.

In a story that spread like wildfire on Saturday, students from the Covington Catholic High School were accused of racism and harassing a Native American elder and Vietnam veteran outside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. Social media overflowed with outrage, doxxing and death threats – even after further videos from the scene showed the original story was entirely wrong.

Also on rt.com Viral VIDEO of standoff between Native American & MAGA-hat-wearing boys splits America

The fact that many of the students – including the one confronted by the Native American protester – wore the iconic red hats with Trump’s 2016 slogan “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) contributed to their vilification by the media, but also a spirited defense by a number of journalists and lawyers who support the sitting president.

As celebrities and virtue-signaling pundits began deleting their social media posts, and the media peddling the original story tried to walk it back without actually apologizing, Trump supporters launched petitions, published videos debunking the original story, and assembled lists of social media outrage for evidence in upcoming defamation suits.

One activist sought help from First Lady Melania Trump, who has campaigned against online bullying, asking her to invite the boys to the White House as a gesture of support.

The scandal has resonated outside the US as well, with Polish parliamentarian Dominik Tarczynski tweeting in support of the Covington students and inviting them to address his colleagues.

“You are very welcome to come and speak out what you believe in!” Tarczynski said.

Yet one prominent Twitter personality who could have been expected to spring into the defense of the Covington boys was notably absent: President Trump himself. As the weekend turned into Monday, some of his supporters began to notice – and weren’t shy about pointing it out, either.

“Loyalty is a two-way street,” attorney Will Chamberlain said in a Periscope on Monday. “We are not sycophants, we are his supporters – but that support is voluntary.”

Chamberlain pointed out that Donald Trump Junior was aware of the issue, and had tweeted about it – but not his father. He was at a loss to explain why the president was unwilling to speak up in defense of his supporters.

So far on Monday, Trump has tweeted about manufacturing jobs, Democrats, federal workers who aren’t getting paid through the ongoing government shutdown, and the holiday dedicated to Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. About the scandal involving the Covington schoolboys, he has said not a word.

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