As the explosive Ukraine scandal continues to unfold, President Donald Trump found refuge in his favorite cable news network on Wednesday to downplay the White House’s memo on Trump’s call with Ukraine.
After the White House released its notes on Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that revealed Trump had asked Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden, the President tweeted a quote from Fox News host Bret Baier, who said “But to the President’s point, you don’t see a direct quid pro quo in the language tying this to that.”
Fox News host Bret Baier: "You don't see a direct quid pro quo" in the White House's memo on Trump's call with Ukraine pic.twitter.com/Dd6p5Mz0YS
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) September 25, 2019
To further boost the narrative that he hadn’t withheld almost $400 million in aid to Ukraine to force an investigation into his top political rival, Trump then tweeted a clip of Fox News White House reporter John Roberts also giving cover to the White House.
“That language or even that suggestion exists nowhere in this document,” Robert said.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 25, 2019
However, the White House’s document contains a disclaimer that admits the memo is “not a verbatim transcript.”
Additionally, the notes show that Trump demanded that Ukraine “do us a favor” after Zelensky asked for more military aid from the U.S.
