In their quest to cast President Obama's handling of the Christmas bomber as weak and ineffectual, Republicans have had to overcome a stubborn fact: The Bush administration handled shoe bomber Richard Reid in similar fashion in 2001. So what do you do with stubborn facts? You change them. On the Daily Show last night, Newt Gingrich claimed the "shoe bomber," Richard Reid, is an American citizen.
Reid is actually a British citizen.
Gingrich was attacking the Obama administration for reading the Miranda rights to the Christmas Day attempted bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. Jon Stewart pointed out that the Bush administration did the same to Reid.
But Gingrich defended President Bush's decision by falsely claiming Reid was an American citizen, unlike Abdulmutallab.
Watch, starting around 2:45:
