Trump Insists Clearly Edited Pic of Abrego Garcia's Tats Is Real in Testy Interview
www.rollingstone.com
Donald Trump repeatedly insisted that a clearly edited picture of Kilmar Abrego Garcia's tattoos is real in an ABC News interview with Terry Moran.

This should be the sticking point to invoke the 25th. Officials need to be loud and make a stink about how Trump can’t tell fact from clear fiction and therefore cannot perform the duties of the office. Make the people of America see the image on the news everyday and make those on his side say out loud if they think it’s fake or real. Half of the masses will never be convinced that he lacks the morality to lead until they’re already in his camps. This is the earliest clear as day moment to act on that which cannot be held to subjective scrutiny or partisanship.

  • Melvin_Ferd@lemmy.world
    1·
    2 days ago

    How do you know that we’re not invested in that though?

    That’s what I’m asking. I’m not asking to prove them wrong. Why are we not asking “is this true”

    Maybe I’ll wrong, have you seen any one verifying anything?

    Years ago I feel like we did question things and verify things. But lately I feel we are as invested as the trumpets are

    • Lyrl@lemm.eeEnglish
      3·
      1 day ago

      Being invested at an identity level is a human trait, not a Republican or MAGA one. It’s not “lately”, it’s all of human history.

      We all readily recognize the blind spots in people we consider part of an out-group. Becoming more aware of the blind spots of people we consider fellow in-group members, and especially in ourselves, is more difficult, but I believe important to strive for. Having blind spots is natural. Recognizing them and trying to compensate for them in our thinking can benefit decision-making.

      In the case of “are the tattoos on this guy’s fingers MS13-related”, there is way more substantive discussion to be had than demanding the guy’s girlfriend dig up and share publicly a years-old couple’s picture without the emoji. Some quotes below if they are of interest, and the article has a picture with the full fingers and their tattoos fully visible in case that really was what you were going for. https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/01/politics/abrego-garcias-tattoos-explainer

      “I see a bunch of symbols that could be interpreted any number of ways,” Jorja Leap, a University of California, Los Angeles professor who has served as an expert gang witness in court, told CNN.

      …“These are definitely NOT MS-13 tattoos,” Thomas Ward, a University of Southern California professor who spent years embedded with MS-13 researching the gang, and is the author of an ethnography that studies MS-13, said in an email.

      …While some gangs will opt for more low-profile or ambiguous means of identifying members to evade detection from law enforcement or rival gang members, MS-13 tattoos, according to Leap, aren’t exactly subtle. They are used to market the gang’s brutality.

      “MS-13 members have tattoos that say ‘MS-13,’” Leap said. “They’re not head-scratchers; they’re billboards. There’s no ambiguity.”

      • Melvin_Ferd@lemmy.world
        1·
        14 hours ago

        I appreciate that. And I’m not saying she should do anything. But I am saying we should be asking hard questions ourselves. Regardless if he is ms13 he deserves due process. Saying that, we should know if any parties are lying or hiding things. It does not look good when someone is playing games and we collectively reinforce those games.

    • conditional_soup@lemm.ee
      3·
      2 days ago

      We’re not asking if it’s true because it doesn’t fucking matter. That’s up to a court and a jury, which Abrego Garcia never went in front of.

      Also, please tell me you’re not asking if the ms paint arial black 12 pt font letters are really on his hands. If you are, I have a bridge I’d like to sell you.

      • Melvin_Ferd@lemmy.world
        1·
        14 hours ago

        No, but people do realize the ms paint wasn’t a lazy attempt to manufacture ms13 on his hands. They were referencing what the finger tats stood for. This was kind of why I got a bit frustrated with the truth here. It seems a lot of people realize trump did think the letters were actually there. But there were also people who don’t realize the letters were a reference, they weren’t a lazy photo shop attempt.

        I think what does matter is how we approach these things. We shouldn’t refuse to ask questions or be skeptical. We should be comfortable to ask if there is information being hidden. It’s dishonest to refuse to investigate and ask questions out of a fear of what the truth is. It makes us so look bad when we collectively ignore key information. It’s is important if he is a gang member. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t get due process. But it’s information that if one person refuses to accept, they will look dishonest as if they’re playing a game