by KATIE MCHUGH
7 Oct 2016
3,327 comments

A Washington Post reporter misconstrued Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s remarks on heroin trafficking and the deadly overdose epidemic.

The Washington Post’s Phillip Rucker claimed Trump called “immigration” poison, not heroin:

Philip Rucker ✔ @PhilipRucker
Trump on immigration: “We are going to stop that poison from flowing into our country."
5:27 PM - 6 Oct 2016

At a town hall in Sandown, New Hampshire, Trump spoke at length about the heroin epidemic raging across the nation. Some 47,000 Americans died from overdoses, mostly from heroin and other opiates, in just a single year, 2014.

“The open border policies of Hillary Clinton, including catch and release, another terrible practice, have allowed a massive influx of drugs into New Hampshire, and frankly, to states all over our country. Almost every state. And it’s really fueled the tremendous drug and heroin crisis that we have,” Trump said.

"We’re going to close up those borders, folks. Believe me. And I promise that to you in New Hampshire, more than anything else—I said, I talk about it no matter where I go and I mention this state, because it was really the first glimpse I got at how serious a problem we have. They’re poisoning our youth. They’re poisoning more than our youth—they’re poisoning everybody. But they’re poisoning our youth. It’s tough enough out there. Our youth doesn’t have a chance with what’s happening, and we’re not going to let it happen anymore."

“We’re going to help the people that are so badly addicted,” he added to applause. “We’re going to help them… I’m going to stop the drugs from coming in.”

Nearly all of the heroin consumed in the U.S. comes from Mexico and is brought across the border by Mexican traffickers, the Washington Post reported before Trump’s presidential run.

While answering a question during the town hall, Trump repeated that he would stop the flow of deadly drugs pouring into the country. He said he had asked border patrol and ICE agents, “How important is the wall?”

“They said, ‘Mr. Trump, it is absolutely necessary for us to do our proper job,'” Trump said. “Which gave me a little additional security as far as the wall is concerned.”

“We need the wall. We have to stop the drugs—heroin—but many drugs. We have to stop the drugs from pouring into our country. Believe me, it is poisoning our country. It’s poisoning our youth. And we’re going to stop it, and stop it fast, long before the wall gets up,” he continued. “We’re going to start that wall fast. I get ’em built fast. But I’ll tell you, long before, we’re going to stop that poison from flowing into our country.” The audience applauded.

While media outlets shut down their comments section so readers can’t talk back, they can still receive massive blowback on Twitter. Users slammed Rucker for his tweet:

Philip Rucker ✔ @PhilipRucker
Trump on immigration: “We are going to stop that poison from flowing into our country."
Follow
Tré Goins-Phillips ✔ @tregp
@PhilipRucker You should delete this tweet. It's misleading and just inaccurate.
9:07 PM - 6 Oct 2016


Shay @Shayevanslive
@PhilipRucker @CorrectRecord Crap from entering your state. I just Heard him. He's an ass.
Follow
DixieLove @BColberg
@Shayevanslive @PhilipRucker @CorrectRecord He was referring to the drugs coming across the border.
5:31 PM - 6 Oct 2016


Philip Rucker ✔ @PhilipRucker
Trump on immigration: “We are going to stop that poison from flowing into our country."
Follow
DixieLove @BColberg
@PhilipRucker He's talking drugs. You know that.
5:28 PM - 6 Oct 2016


Philip Rucker ✔ @PhilipRucker
Trump on immigration: “We are going to stop that poison from flowing into our country."
Follow
Henry Swissinger @HenrySwissinger
@PhilipRucker Yeah. Its called drugs. You are a stunningly dishonest Clinton shill.
5:31 PM - 6 Oct 2016


Philip Rucker ✔ @PhilipRucker
Trump on immigration: “We are going to stop that poison from flowing into our country."
Follow
Stephe96 @Stephe96
@PhilipRucker you do realize he was talking about heroin, right?
9:02 PM - 6 Oct 2016 · Gardner, MA, United States


Philip Rucker ✔ @PhilipRucker
Trump on immigration: “We are going to stop that poison from flowing into our country."
Follow
Jonathan Langdale 💭 @jlangdale
Wow, @PhilipRucker just totally lied about a @realDonaldTrump quote. This may be the worse I've seen.
7:01 AM - 7 Oct 2016


Philip Rucker ✔ @PhilipRucker
Trump on immigration: “We are going to stop that poison from flowing into our country."
Follow
Jennifer Wang @BWV_54
@PhilipRucker poison = drugs
7:07 PM - 6 Oct 2016


Philip Rucker ✔ @PhilipRucker
Trump on immigration: “We are going to stop that poison from flowing into our country."
Follow
NYTNarrative @NYTNarrative
@PhilipRucker I think he was talking about the actual drug.
7:06 PM - 6 Oct 2016


Philip Rucker ✔ @PhilipRucker
Trump on immigration: “We are going to stop that poison from flowing into our country."
Follow
Silence is Consent! @NoSilentConsent
@PhilipRucker You call yourself a correspondent? Of what, propaganda? He was speaking about drugs like heroin. Why spread lies? Blatant lie.
9:14 PM - 6 Oct 2016


Silence is Consent! @NoSilentConsent
@PhilipRucker You call yourself a correspondent? Of what, propaganda? He was speaking about drugs like heroin. Why spread lies? Blatant lie.
Follow
Deplorable Sabrina @Z3pp3in
@NoSilentConsent @PhilipRucker NH has 3rd highest heroine problem in US & massive overdoses. It's disgusting that someone would twist words
9:45 PM - 6 Oct 2016


Philip Rucker ✔ @PhilipRucker
Trump on immigration: “We are going to stop that poison from flowing into our country."
Follow
Jay K @JayKlos
@PhilipRucker just another notch on the dishonest media belt...
9:02 PM - 6 Oct 2016


hilip Rucker ✔ @PhilipRucker
Trump on immigration: “We are going to stop that poison from flowing into our country."
Follow
SAJones @GFVAMom
@PhilipRucker This is why no one trusts the media. And stop making me want to defend the clown.
9:20 PM - 6 Oct 2016


Matthew Battle @librab103
@PhilipRucker do you have a video of him saying it?
Follow
Max Hayes @MaxHayzz
@librab103 scroll back up. I watched it - he was talking heroin in particular. He wants treatment programs for addicts (from another speech)
7:59 PM - 6 Oct 2016


Philip Rucker ✔ @PhilipRucker
Trump on immigration: “We are going to stop that poison from flowing into our country."
Follow
Stock Puppet @StockPuppet
@PhilipRucker not immigration, heroin
5:32 PM - 6 Oct 2016


Philip Rucker ✔ @PhilipRucker
Trump on immigration: “We are going to stop that poison from flowing into our country."
Follow
red @kotuzak
@PhilipRucker taken out of context much? Boy get another job. Everyone heard it was drugs he was taking about. You should be embarrassed.
10:08 PM - 6 Oct 2016


Philip Rucker ✔ @PhilipRucker
Trump on immigration: “We are going to stop that poison from flowing into our country."
Follow
Veracity @JasonSamfield
@PhilipRucker It's "Trump on drugs" not "immigration" unless you want to purposefully slander and have your journalism credentials revoked.
8:48 PM - 6 Oct 2016


Philip Rucker ✔ @PhilipRucker
Trump on immigration: “We are going to stop that poison from flowing into our country."
Follow
Joss @Spritely2315
@PhilipRucker He was talking about drugs. Get a grip.
8:55 PM - 6 Oct 2016


Philip Rucker ✔ @PhilipRucker
Trump on immigration: “We are going to stop that poison from flowing into our country."
Follow
Mike @mike4193496
@PhilipRucker Dude you're a pathetic liar! He was talking about the hero on problem in New Hampshire and was talking about the drugs coming
9:02 PM - 6 Oct 2016


Philip Rucker ✔ @PhilipRucker
Trump on immigration: “We are going to stop that poison from flowing into our country."
Follow
Liars Never Win @liars_never_win
32% of the people trust the media and you are working hard to get it into the single digits @PhilipRucker
8:34 AM - 7 Oct 2016


Philip Rucker ✔ @PhilipRucker
Trump on immigration: “We are going to stop that poison from flowing into our country."
Follow
DEPLORABLE🐸Jimmy @realtacoking25
@PhilipRucker Bruh. Please. He was talking about drugs. This is why trust in the media is at record low numbers.
9:10 PM - 6 Oct 2016


Other journalists corrected Rucker’s misinterpretation as well.


Philip Rucker ✔ @PhilipRucker
Trump on immigration: “We are going to stop that poison from flowing into our country."
Follow
David Martosko ✔ @dmartosko
@PhilipRucker he was talking about drugs, not immigrants. Sheesh.
9:30 PM - 6 Oct 2016 · Manhattan, NY, United States


❤Deplorable D❤ @Hallofr808
@dmartosko @PhilipRucker You're probably the only journalist who will point that out. It's depressing.
Follow
David Martosko ✔ @dmartosko
@Hallofr808 @PhilipRucker Well, I was in the room when he said it. It wasn't ambiguous in any way.
10:20 PM - 6 Oct 2016 · Manhattan, NY, United States


Blake Hounshell ✔ @blakehounshell
I think he was talking about heroin. https://twitter.com/PhilipRucker/sta...88440694824960
6:53 PM - 6 Oct 2016


After others pointed out his mistake, Rucker tried to backtrack, more than an hour and a half after his original tweet bounced around pundits’ and reporters’ feeds.


Philip Rucker ✔ @PhilipRucker
Trump on immigration: “We are going to stop that poison from flowing into our country."
Follow
Philip Rucker ✔ @PhilipRucker
Trump's "poison" quote was about his border wall stopping heroin from entering USA, though it came in the context of immigration.
7:06 PM - 6 Oct 2016 · Washington, DC, United States


Rucker was also the reporter who bellowed “WHAT ABOUT YOUR GAFFES?” at Mitt Romney in Poland in 2012.

http://www.breitbart.com/2016-presid...-to-smear-him/