Yes, the wire service has now actually fact-checked Donald Trump’s claims, along with his unconvincing attempts to take them back as “sarcasm.”
THE FACTS: The founder of the group was Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the head of al-Qaida in Iraq who was killed in a U.S. airstrike in 2006.
…
TRUMP: “In many respects, you know, they (IS militants) honor President Obama.”
THE FACTS: To the contrary, IS propaganda has shown fighters shooting targets bearing Obama’s image. IS has beheaded captives while slurring Obama’s name and suggested prices for enslaving his wife.
When you see something like this, Trump’s frantic mudslinging starts to make at least a modicum of sense. It’s a sloppier version of LBJ’s story about accusing an opponent of committing obscene acts with sheep: “Then let the son of a bitch deny it!”