Serial fibber Brian Williams told yet another whopper on Friday night from his home in MSNBC exile known as The 11th Hour with Brian Williams. So what else is new? What makes his latest historical untruth ironically special is it came as Williams along with historian Michael Beschloss were fact checking President Donald Trump for a supposed error he made during his speech at a rally in Lebanon, Ohio on Friday.
For years following the Civil War, many historians as well as much of the public in general discounted the military abilities of General Ulysses S. Grant by claiming he was able to accomplish his victories primarily due to the overwhelming men and material of the North as well as being willing to expend both in a more than necessary manner on the battlefield. So when Trump mentioned in his speech that Grant is finally being respected as a great general as has happened, this set both Brian Williams and Beschloss off in snark mode.
Following their snark, disguised as a fact check, Williams made sure to let the viewers know he read all of of Beschloss's books including his current one which, according to Williams, he proclaimed to have read up to page 526. In case you didn't believe him, he lifted the thick Beschloss book up where his finger resided on page 526. Or so the self-portraying deep student of history who saw bodies floating by him in New Orleans claimed.
After reading that President John F. Kennedy referred to former President Dwight D. Eisenhower as "General," the man whose helicopter was hit by an RPG while on assignment at Planet Fantasy, worked his way up to the reason:
I'm on page 526 which is this much book.
(Holds book up open to supposedly page 526 with his finger on it.)
Okay, Brian, of course we believe you are a deep student of history. After all you held the book up and proclaimed unto all the world that you are on page 526. Got that, everybody? Page 526. Brian Williams read the Beschloss book up to page 526... Or so he claims.
After some back and forth with Beschloss over how dangerous Trump could be with having the power to start wars, despite a major move in de-escalating a potential war with North Korea, Williams returns to page 526 of the book that he wants everybody to know he has been reading up to that page. Page 526.
As luck would have it, this last page I read last night, 526, has a vignette, a scene. Johnson meeting with Eisenhower. Interestingly JFK always referred to Ike as "General" because as Supreme Allied Commander, JFK a young Navy man served under Dwight David Eisenhower in World War II...
Really, Brian. Could you explain how Kennedy, who served in the Navy in the Pacific Theater during World War II was able to serve under Eisenhower who was the Supreme Allied Commander of the EUROPEAN THEATER? Admiral Chester Nimitz would like to learn how his underling in the Pacific managed to serve under the command of the American military leader in the Europe.
This is a bit surprising since Brian Williams is quite familiar with the activities of General Eisenhower. In fact, right on page 526 of Eisenhower's book, Crusade In Europe, it states: "And then Brian Williams told me, 'June 6th would work best.'"
Remember, it is right there on page 526. Page 526.
