In an interview with Piers Morgan on Thursday, President Donald Trump addressed his decision in November to retweet unverified anti-Muslim videos posted by the leader of a British far-right group, claiming that he knows “nothing” about the British figure he retweeted.
When first asked about the videos, Trump said he retweeted the videos “because I am a big believer in fighting radical Islamic terror” and “this was a depiction of radical Islamic terror.” However, two of the videos have been debunked. Trump also faced criticism for the retweets from Republican lawmakers in the U.S. and from British Prime Minister Theresa May, who said that the British group “seeks to divide communities through their use of hateful narratives which peddle lies and stoke tensions.”
Morgan noted to Trump that the videos were unverified, and in response, Trump rejected any notion that he would be responsible for the dissemination of the videos since he merely retweeted them. He also claimed that the retweets were not a “big story” in the U.S., despite the fact that major American news outlets covered the retweets and May’s concern that Trump would boost the far-right British group.
“I didn’t do it. I didn’t go out — I did a retweet. It was a big story where you are, but it was not a big story where I am,” Trump said.
Morgan asked if Trump could apologize, but the President stopped short of doing so, claiming that he does not know the group that pushed the unverified videos, despite major news coverage.
“If you’re telling me they’re horrible people, horrible, racist people, I would certainly apologize if you’d like me to do that. I know nothing about them,” Trump said.
Pressed to say whether he would disavow Britain First, Trump replied, “I don’t want to be involved with people like that. But you’re telling me about these people because I know nothing about these people.”
Watch part of the interview, which aired on “Good Morning Britain” on Friday:
I believe that ! And maybe a teachable moment, Donald ? What did you learn today ?
Dang you, steveidee, you just beat me to it by a whisker!!!
I really wish the interviewer either
a) pointed out that it was Trump’s job to know about these groups
b) pointed out that he shouldn’t use the power and prestige of the office to disseminate things he knows nothing about
or
c) told him what Britain First stood for, then asked him to disavow them, or not.
I am tired of journalists just asking questions and then letting lies, misdirection, and distortion fly with no effort at clarifying the truth.
And if you notice, Trump never apologized, even though the interviewer thanked him for it.
He hypothetically apologized, then said he would have nothing to do with people like that, IF they were really like that, which he never acknowledged.
And he gets away with it.