All the people Donald Trump claims he hasn't met - despite evidence to the contrary
Donald Trump has distanced himself from the British Ambassador in Washington, saying he “does not know” Kim Darroch after the leak of the diplomat’s unflattering cables on Sunday.
The claim was undermined by the cables themselves in which Mr Darroch describes several meetings with the US President.
The ambassador noted that he “always found him [Mr Trump] to be absolutely charming” but that the former reality TV star “radiates insecurity” and his administration was a “uniquely dsyfunctonal environment.”
Several top-ranking Trump officials were also regular attendees at events thrown at the British Embassy.
On Monday Mr Trump announced he “will no longer deal” with Mr Darroch, a man he earlier claimed only to have heard talked about as a “pompous fool”.
The veteran diplomat is not the only person the president has claimed to never have had any connection with, once bad headlines emerge.
Jeffrey Epstein
In 2002 Mr Trump described Mr Epstein as a “terrific guy”, telling New York magazine that he heard the financier liked “beautiful women as much as I do, many of them on the younger side”. On Tuesday however he said he was “not a fan” after the billionaire was charged with sex trafficking offences involving underage girls.
Mr Trump said they had a “falling out” 15 years ago and White House aides stressed he had not spoken to Mr Epstein in over a decade.
E Jean Carroll
In another instance Mr Trump claimed he had "never met" E. Jean Carroll, a female journalist who publicly accused him of rape in the mid-1990s. That was despite her story outlining the allegations in the New York Times featured a photograph of them together.
Probed further, Mr Trump said: "Standing with my coat on in a line - give me a break - with my back to the camera. I have no idea who she is.”
Julian Assange
During the 2016 presidential campaign, Mr Trump was effusive in his praise for the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks. The website published hacked emails belonging to Mr Trump's Democratic presidential rival Hillary Clinton. The emails proved hugely damaging, prompting Mr Trump to proclaim at one Florida rally: "I love WikiLeaks".
Following the arrest of the website's founder, Julian Assange, earlier this year Mr Trump said: "I know nothing about WikiLeaks. It's not my thing and I know there is something having to do with Julian Assange".
George Conway
Mr Trump clearly intended to wound George Conway, a conservative lawyer and frequent Trump critic, when he suggested he "barely" knew him.
It was an unlikely claim, given Mr Conway's wife serves in Mr Trump's inner circle. But were further proof needed, the Washington Post later published a 2006 letter from Mr Trump in which he thanked Mr Conway for his help on a problem in one of his buildings and praised his legal skills.
George Papadopoulos
After Mr Trump's former campaign adviser George Papadopoulos landed in hot water got into legal trouble for lying about his contact with Russia-linked officials, the president was quick to distance himself.
“I don’t know him. I saw him sitting, in one picture, at a table with me... That’s the only thing I know about him,” Mr Trump said.
But while listing members of his foreign policy team in a Washington Post interview, Mr Trump had named Papadopolous among the group, calling him "an excellent guy”.
Matt Whitaker
In November, Mr Trump distanced himself from his own acting attorney general amid questions over his suitability for the post - despite appointing him just two days before. “I don’t know Matt Whitaker,” he told reporters. Mr Trump's statement contradicted his own comments a month before, when he told Fox News: "I can tell you Matt Whitaker’s a great guy. I mean, I know Matt Whitaker.”
Serge Kovaleski
Mr Trump also claimed he had never met a New York Times disabled reporter whom he mocked during a campaign rally in 2015 by curling up his hands and shaking them on stage. The reporter in question, Serge Kovaleski, has an impairment that visibly affects the flexibility and movement of his arms.
Mr Trump's defended the on-stage attack, claiming his actions had been misread and that he didn’t know the reporter or “what he looks like”. Mr Kovaleski, who had covered Mr Trump long before the businessman entered politics, said "Donald and I were on a first-name basis for years."
Lil Jon
Another example was a November of 2018 press conference, when Mr Trump was asked about the rapper Lil Jon, who said that president had once called him an “Uncle Tom.”
Thanks @LilJon for coming to my defense in Rolling Stone Magazine. As I have often said, you are a terrific guy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 22, 2014
“I don’t know who Lil Jon is. I don’t - I really don’t,” Mr Trump replied. In fact, the rapper was a two-time contestant on “The Celebrity Apprentice”, a reality TV programme starring Mr Trump. Mr Trump has also tweeted about Lil Jon on multiple previous occasions, to him in calling him a “great friend”.
