Donald Trump, in the wake of reporting by The Atlantic that Trump has been known to refer to fallen military heroes as “losers” and “suckers,” gave a press conference at the White House. He did just about as well explaining himself as one could expect, which was not all that well.
Asked whether he regrets his infamous 2015 attack on John McCain, Pres. Trump tells @jonkarl, "I say what I say. I never got along with John McCain…I wasn't a fan."
"I think time has proven me right, to a large extent." https://t.co/aOZ5xjuNhM pic.twitter.com/33jUTU5ZH4
— ABC News (@ABC) September 4, 2020
Asked about statements he made about the late Senator John McCain, some of which were recorded on video in which Trump said that McCain was only a war hero “because he got captured” and that he prefers “people who weren’t captured, okay?” Trump responded by saying that he never liked McCain, but that he had respect for him. Everything Trump has said and done publicly in relation to McCain shows that this was a bold-faced lie.
‘I disagreed with John McCain on a lot of things. That doesn’t mean I don’t respect him.’
NOW: @realDonaldTrump says it is hard to sue the Atlantic for a story he calls a hoax. Fact check: His campaign sued The New York Times for an OPINION piece. pic.twitter.com/fzORDzz65t
— Brian J. Karem (@BrianKarem) September 4, 2020
Trump said all of the reporting was “a hoax” and pointed to a list of people that includes names like Kayleigh McEnany and Dan Scavino who say that The Atlantic is lying. Asked about John Kelly, whose son died in combat and whose friend is sourced in the article, “he was a tough guy…but he was unable to function…now he goes out and bad-mouths.”
‘We have 11 people, there is no one who feels more strongly about our soldiers, our wounded who die in war, than I do. It’s a hoax.’
Asked about suspected poisoning of Alexey Navalny, Pres. Trump says, "I don't know exactly what happened, I think it's tragic."
Trump then turned to criticism of China, which he says "you should be talking about much more so than Russia…You never ask about China." pic.twitter.com/ZJlqHZs14v
— ABC News (@ABC) September 4, 2020
Of course, as soon as Russia was mentioned, Trump huffed his way into another “hoax” fit. The question was about a political rival of Putin’s who was poisoned in Germany, which Trump called “tragic,” but he wasn’t happy about the word “Russia” being a part of the questioning at all.
‘I don’t mind you mentioning Russia, but I think probably China at this point is a nation that you should be talking about much more so than Russia.’
For the full video of Trump’s press conference, see below:
Featured image screenshot via YouTube
