So we pretty much all got an eyeful of President Donald Trump holding aloft a Bible in front of St. John’s Church in Washington, D.C., on Monday — and we pretty much all know the image
enraged Episcopal Diocese of Washington Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde.
Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
“Let me be clear: The president just used a Bible, the most sacred text of the Judeo-Christian tradition, and one of the churches of my diocese, without permission, as a backdrop for a message antithetical to the teachings of Jesus,” she said.
Fair enough.
But then on Tuesday, actress Debra Messing — one of countless Hollywood celebs who despise Trump —
tweeted the following:
Image source: Twitter screenshot
It was a pretty nifty find on ye olde Interwebs for Messing, who no doubt knows that everything we encounter online is the iron-clad truth. And hey, if it fits a narrative you happen to believe in — like Trump is the second coming of Adolf Hitler — so much the better.
Problem is the image is fake — meaning, of course, the Hitler part.
Here’s the skinny, straight from the mouth of
Snopes: “A genuine photograph of Hitler standing in a crowd of people delivering the ‘Heil Hitler’ salute was manipulated to appear as if he was holding a book.”
The original image is available via Getty with the following caption: “Nazi German Fuhrer Adolf Hitler (C) saluting girding crowd raising arms in enthused mass heil, in undated image. (Photo by Heinrich Hoffmann/Timepix/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images).”
Photo by Heinrich Hoffmann/Timepix/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images
How did folks react?
As you can imagine, folks who smelled a rat and caught it clutching the cheese took to Twitter and showed little mercy to Messing for her faux pas:
- “Debra Messing is … I can’t say it in public.”
- “She’s the dog hearing the whistle. Woof, Debra.”
- “You are part of the problem.”
- “Way to keep sowing the seeds of division, a price that will continue to be paid by the poor and underprivileged. Very Stunning & Brave.”
- “The sad part is you probably believe this and aren’t just ignorant.”
There were these visual gems, too:
Image source: Twitter screenshot
Image source: Twitter screenshot
But even with the mess of egg on the actress’ face, some of her left-wing fans still tried to make a game of it:
- “The photo may be fake, but the comparisons to Hitler are entirely appropriate.”
- “Tear gassing peaceful protestors is much more worse.”
Let’s just let Elaine close out this chapter, shall we?
Fake, fake, fake, fake.
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