Britt tied an anecdote about a woman who survived sex trafficking to Biden’s border policies. But it happened during the George W. Bush admin. Email not displaying correctly?
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** OPINION
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** How a tenacious reporter revealed Sen. Katie Britt’s SOTU response to be ‘beyond misleading’
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Alabama Sen. Katie Britt, shown here in February. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)

Last Thursday was President Joe Biden’s big State of the Union address.

Most agree that Biden had a good night, showing the vim and vigor that certainly threw cold water on the narrative that he is this doddering old man incapable of running the country. He was so energetic that Fox News’ Jesse Watters ridiculously said ([link removed]) , “This guy is on speed or something.”

But who knew that it would be the Republican response to the State of the Union, usually an afterthought that is quickly forgotten, that would leave a lasting impression.

Alabama junior Sen. Katie Britt, considered a rising star in the party and maybe even a dark horse to be Donald Trump’s running mate, delivered one of the most memorable State of the Union responses of all time.

That isn’t meant as a compliment.

It was a speech that has been widely panned and mocked, including by some in her own party and conservative media. It also turns out that one of the major points in Britt’s speech was misleading — as discovered by one tenacious reporter.

Her speech could easily have been dismissed for being overly dramatic to the point of humor, but there was something more to be picked apart. Britt also was called out for a story she told during her response. Britt told the tale of going to the border and meeting a woman who survived being sex trafficked. Britt relayed meeting the woman and said, “We wouldn’t be OK with this happening in a Third World country. This is the United States of America, and it is past time, in my opinion, that we start acting like it. President Biden’s border policies are a disgrace.”

Britt never gave an exact timeline, but her words seemed to imply this happened during Biden’s time as president.

But former Associated Press reporter Jonathan Katz put out a video ([link removed]) on social media, saying Britt was “beyond misleading.” (Here’s ([link removed]) Katz’s TikTok video.) The woman Britt appeared to be talking about is Karla Jacinto Romero, who testified before Congress about being the victim of sex trafficking by Mexican cartels years ago when she was 12. She was at a roundtable discussion at the border last year with Britt and two other senators.

Katz said if Romero is who Britt was talking about, then the horrific events that Romero experienced happened outside of the U.S. during George W. Bush’s administration. A spokesperson for Britt confirmed to The Associated Press’ Emily Wagster Pettus ([link removed]) and The Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler ([link removed]) that Romero was the person Britt was referring to.

Britt was roundly criticized for her story — from Kessler giving her “four Pinocchios” ([link removed]) to “Saturday Night Live” roasting her in a hilarious and scorching cold open.

And yet, Britt was vague during an appearance on Sunday’s “Fox News Sunday.” Moderator Shannon Bream asked, “Did you mean to give the impression that this horrible story happened on President Biden’s watch?”

Britt said, “No. … Look, I very specifically said this is what President Biden did during his first 100 days. Minutes after coming into office, he stopped all deportations. He halted construction of the border wall. And he said, ‘I am going to give amnesty to millions,’ those types of things. Act as a magnet to have more and more people here. I then said in his first 100 days he had 94 executive actions. And those executive actions didn’t just create the crisis. They invited it. I then contrasted it with my first 100 days. Shannon, I went to the border three times in my first 100 days in office, and when I was there, I asked for the real, unvarnished truth. I wanted to sit down. I asked the Border Patrol agents. I asked the people there. I asked the victims, previous victims of drug cartels: ‘Tell me what it’s like. Tell me what we need to do. Tell me what we need to know.’”

But, Bream wouldn’t let that answer sit and, appropriately, pushed some more, asking Britt, “But to be clear, the story that you relate is not something that’s happened under the Biden administration, that particular person?”

Britt danced around some more, never really clarifying her story. But good job by Bream for multiple questions about it.

According to Mediaite’s Joe DePaolo ([link removed]) , White House spokesperson Andrew Bates put out a statement that said, “Instead of telling more debunked lies to justify opposing the toughest bipartisan border legislation in modern history, Sen. Britt should stop choosing human smugglers and fentanyl traffickers over our national security and the Border Patrol Union. Like President Biden said in his State of the Union, ‘We have a simple choice: We can fight about fixing the border or we can fix it.’”


** Talking to Katz …
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Journalist and Flaming Hydra newsletter writer Maria Bustillos had a Q&A with her colleague Katz ([link removed]) , who explained how he quickly discovered that Britt’s sex trafficking story was misleading in its attempts to blame Biden.

Katz did a simple Google search and realized Britt was likely talking about Britt’s trip to the border in January 2023, where she was on a roundtable with Romero, who is now 31 years old.

Katz told Bustillos, “I don't know why nobody else picked up on that, because the big detail that got my attention was that she says that the trafficking had started when this woman was 12, and well, then that can't — Joe Biden's only been president for three years, so he can't — it made no sense. Who's getting trafficked back and forth across the Rio Grande? Something is just not adding up here.”

Katz also carefully dissected Britt’s anecdote, and he explains how Britt crossed the line in being misleading in tying it to Biden. Check out the entire Q&A.


** A red hot cold open
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I mentioned above that “Saturday Night Live” came out hot in its cold open ([link removed]) in destroying Britt for her over-the-top State of the Union response that came off like a bad soliloquy from a poorly acted junior high school play.

A-list actress Scarlett Johansson, who is married to “SNL” writer and “Weekend Update” anchor Colin Jost, played Britt and absolutely killed it.

Just a week ago in this newsletter, I was pounding “SNL” for its predictable and boring political cold opens. But this one was right on the money.

The Daily Beast’s Jennifer M. Wood wrote ([link removed]) that it was “SNL’s” best cold open in months and that Johansson nailed it, adding, “Johansson perfectly captured Britt’s now-viral theatrics, including her jarring changes in tone and sound level and audibly visible dissection of syllables.”

Aside from spoofing Britt’s speech pattern and clownish attempts at being dramatic, the open had two superb detours. At one point, it had Johansson turning the speech into a sales pitch for jewelry on QVC.

And, CNN’s Dan Heching noted ([link removed]) it had a “well-placed spoof of Jordan Peele’s Oscar-winning racial satire ‘Get Out,’ when Johansson took out a teacup and stirred it, causing Kenan Thompson to freeze with a tear falling down his face.”

That “Get Out” reference was a moment of comedy brilliance on a skit that had already hit it out of the park.

The Atlantic had high praise for Johansson ([link removed]) , calling it a “pitch-perfect impression,” with Esther Zuckerman writing, “… this interpretation of Britt was everything a great actor’s impression of a public figure should be. She accurately captured the politician’s intensity, then heightened it just enough to emphasize its absurdity.”


** Friendly fire
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Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo, shown here in 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo used to be a legitimate and respected journalist. What happened to her?

She actually said this ([link removed]) Sunday during her “Sunday Morning Futures” program while discussing immigration with Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump: “I had a friend the other day tell me she was standing at a food truck, two gentlemen approached her. One had tattoos all over his face. They looked like illegals, she said, and one had a clipboard and he said to her, "Hello, miss, do you want to sign up to be a Democrat and vote?’”

For starters, I’m not sure I buy Bartiromo’s anecdote. Seems like a lot of times on Fox, on-air hosts have stories about “friends” who just happen to have a story that fits whatever Fox News is trying to sell that day. But let’s say Bartiromo’s story really happened. The question I’d have for her — or, sorry, her friend — is what do “illegals” look like? That’s shameful language.


** Photo controversy
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Kate, the Princess of Wales, had abdominal surgery two months ago and hasn’t been seen in public since then. In fact, she hasn’t been seen publicly since Christmas Day, leading to wild speculation about her whereabouts and condition.

On Sunday, Kensington Palace issued a photo ([link removed]) of Kate with her three children. The photo was supposedly taken early last week in Windsor by her husband, William, Prince of Wales. Along with the photo, Kate put out a statement that said, “Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months. Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day.”

However, the AP has removed the photo. So has Reuters and Agence France-Presse.

The Associated Press’ Brian Melley wrote ([link removed]) , “The Associated Press initially published the photo, which was issued by Kensington Palace. But AP later retracted the image because at closer inspection, it appeared the source had manipulated the image in a way that did not meet AP’s photo standards. The photo shows an inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte’s left hand.”

Here’s a video breakdown ([link removed]) from Sky News.

What makes it even more suspicious is that Kensington Palace has declined to comment on the news agencies pulling the photo for claims it was manipulated.

The palace released a statement last month that Kate was “doing well.” The statement said, “Kensington Palace made it clear in January the timelines of the princess' recovery and we'd only be providing significant updates. That guidance stands.”


** Media tidbits
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* Writing for The Atlantic, veteran media reporter Paul Farhi with “The Media Are Getting Easier to Push Around.” ([link removed])
* ABC “This Week” host George Stephanopoulos had a testy exchange with South Carolina Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace over her support of Trump. Politico’s David Cohen has the details ([link removed]) .
* The New York Times’ David A. Fahrenthold and Ryan Mac with “Elon Musk Has a Giant Charity. Its Money Stays Close to Home.” ([link removed])
* For New York Times Magazine, Eliza Brooke with “Taylor Tomlinson Is the Perfect Late-Night Host for The TikTok Era.” ([link removed])
* The Asheville Citizen Times’ Karen Chávez with “Asheville Citizen Times to relocate from downtown building after 85 years; paper continues.” ([link removed])


** Hot type
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* For The New York Times, David Marchese interviews actor Jeremy Strong in “Jeremy Strong Isn’t Sure He Knows Who He Is.” ([link removed])
* The Oscars were Sunday night. I’ll have more in Tuesday’s newsletter, but to tide you over, here’s some fun analysis from The Washington Post’s Dak Zak and Amy Argetsinger: “The Oscars always get it wrong. Here are the real best pictures of the past 50 years.” ([link removed])


** More resources for journalists
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* Subscribe to PolitiFact’s weekly newsletter ([link removed]) . Get facts delivered straight to your inbox.
* Poynter Producer Project (Seminar) (June 4-Sept. 10) — Apply by April 14 ([link removed]) .
* Reporters Toolkit (Seminar) (May 7-June 11) — Apply by April 28 ([link removed]) .
* Got a story you’d like to write for Poynter? Email [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) with your idea, approximate timeline and word count.

Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .
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