Former RNC head and intelligence expert push back against cries of fake news

Michael Steele.
(Image credit: Joshua Blanchard/Getty Images)

A Democratic political commentator, a former Republican National Committee chairman, and an expert on intelligence and terrorism all agree that despite President Trump's penchant for calling media reports "fake news," facts do still matter.

Krystal Ball, Michael Steele, and Malcolm Nance spoke at the Politicon convention Sunday in Pasadena, California, appearing on a panel hosted by MSNBC's Joy Reid. For many Republicans, even when Trump calls something "fake news" when it's true, they are compelled to go along with what he says because the "desire to support the president, desire to support the party, right or wrong, that's what politics dictates now," Steele said. With so many people accusing the media of peddling fake news, "it undermines the very fabric of who we are as a nation when you begin to question those institutions," he added.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.