Key Takeaways
- President Donald Trump falsely denied making a comment he had made on camera just five days prior
- The comment was about releasing a video of a US military strike against a suspected drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean
- Trump has a history of falsely denying he ever said things he had said in public
- The Trump administration has released video of the initial strike but not the follow-up strike, which has been shown to members of Congress behind closed doors
- Trump launched a personal attack against the reporter who accurately repeated his previous remark, calling her "the most obnoxious reporter in the whole place" and "actually a terrible reporter"
Introduction to the Incident
President Donald Trump on Monday falsely denied making a comment he had made on camera just five days prior. The comment was about releasing a video of a US military strike against a suspected drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean. This incident is not an isolated one, as Trump has a long history of falsely denying he ever said things he had said in public. The subject of his latest false denial was the video footage of the September 2 US military strikes against a suspected drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean. The military conducted a follow-up strike to kill the people who had survived the first strike.
The Video Footage
The Trump administration publicly released the video of the initial strike but not the video of the follow-up strike, which has been shown to members of Congress behind closed doors. On December 3, Trump said he has no problem releasing this video to the American people. During an exchange with ABC News reporter Selina Wang at the White House, Trump stated, "I don’t know what they have, but whatever they have we’d certainly release, no problem." This statement was made in response to a question about releasing the video of the second strike, and it seemed to indicate that Trump was open to making the footage public.
The False Denial
However, when another ABC News reporter, Rachel Scott, repeated Trump’s comment back to him while trying to ask a question about the potential release of the additional video, the president denied he had said what he said. Scott noted, "Mr. President, you said you would have no problem with releasing the full video of that strike on September 2nd off the coast of Venezuela." Trump responded by saying, "I didn’t say that. That’s – you said that, I didn’t say that. This is ABC fake news." Despite Scott’s correction, pointing out that Trump had indeed made the comment, the president continued to deny it.
Attack on the Reporter
Trump then launched a personal attack against Scott, calling her "the most obnoxious reporter in the whole place" and "actually a terrible reporter." This attack was unprovoked and seemed to be an attempt to deflect attention from the issue at hand. Scott had simply been trying to ask a question about the potential release of the video, and Trump’s response was to deny his previous comment and attack the reporter. The exchange was a clear example of Trump’s tendency to lash out at reporters who challenge him or point out his inconsistencies.
Defense of the Strikes
Trump also offered a defense of the strikes, repeating his frequent false claim that each boat destroyed saves "25,000 American lives." He also claimed that the survivors "were trying to turn the boat back to where it could float, and we didn’t want to see that, because that boat was loaded up with drugs." This defense was not supported by evidence and seemed to be an attempt to justify the military action. However, the issue at hand was not the justification of the strikes, but rather the release of the video footage.
Conclusion
The incident highlights Trump’s tendency to falsely deny his previous comments and attack reporters who challenge him. It also raises questions about the transparency of the Trump administration and its willingness to release information to the public. The fact that the video of the follow-up strike has been shown to members of Congress behind closed doors, but not released to the public, suggests that there may be something to hide. The American people deserve to know the truth about the military action and the reasoning behind it, and the release of the video footage would be an important step towards transparency and accountability.