Yet another example from the WaPo Fake News Paper, or, as Tammy calls it, “Jeff Bezos’ Blog”
Via Breitbart.
The establishment media became upset this weekend after President Donald Trump canceled the “White House Muslim Iftar Dinner tradition started by Thomas Jefferson.” But the media is wrong in every respect. Thomas Jefferson never held any Iftar dinner and only three out of 45 presidents ever hosted one, so there is no such “tradition” to cancel….
The often-used claim that Thomas Jefferson held the first Iftar dinner at the White House was trotted out by the Post’s Wang. She recounted the time when the diplomatic envoy from the Bey of Tunis, Sidi Soliman Melli Melli, visited Washington during Ramadan in 1805.
Jefferson invited the envoy to the White House for dinner at 3:30 PM—the time most Washingtonians had dinner in those days. But after he sent the invitation he was told that Melli Melli could not partake of a meal until after sunset because of Ramadan. Thomas Jefferson was faced with two choices: cancel the dinner entirely or simply have the meal later in the evening at a time when his guest could attend. As a good host and a decent person, Jefferson chose the latter.
In fact, all Jefferson did was change the time of his meal….
Shifra, I hate to correct you, but intellectual integrity requires me to acknowledge that the Bezos blog speaks the truth. President Jefferson did indeed initiate the tradition of hosting this Muslim event. However, WashPo did bobble one detail. Jefferson did not host that event in the White House. Rather, he sent American ships across the ocean to pay their respects to the Pasha of Tripoli. See the details of that visit in this Wikipedia article.
Wow, Maynard, sounds like they had a blast 🙂
Keith Ellison could have had one that he invited Repubs to. Dems get positive press instead of constant negative attacks. Or would that have drawn attention to Congressional Black Caucus refusing to meet with Pres. Trump?
WaPo may be on to something, Jefferson’s forgotten history. His hashtag campaigns, #JeSuisBarbary and #BringBackOurSailors. Being flexible and sending an old folksinger to sing a song of unity to the Pasha. Taking the Oath of Office on his Koran. Always saying Inshallah during festive fir tree season. Fortunately WaPo is bringing the forgotten history to light because Democracy Dies in Darkness, don’t you know.