White House Spokesman Attempts To Defend Trump's 'Lynching' Remarks
On the heels of a tweet from President Donald Trump on Tuesday morning where he compared the ongoing impeachment inquiry against him to “a lynching,” White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley offered a defense that completely skirted the issue at hand.
While talking to reporters outside the White House, Gidley said that Trump wasn’t “comparing what’s happened to him with one of our darkest moments in American history.” Thousands of Black Americans were killed by lynch mobs in the Jim Crow-era South.
“I understand that there are many people in the media who don’t agree with his language,” said Gidley. “He has used many words to describe the way he’s been relentlessly attacked.”
The spokesman went on to say that Trump has done “many things” to help African-American communities.
#NEW: White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley on Pres. Trump’s tweet calling the House impeachment inquiry a ‘lynching’:
“The president’s not comparing what’s happened to him with one of our darkest moments in American history.”pic.twitter.com/gCwr1mBD0o— Jennifer Franco (@jennfranconews) October 22, 2019
Hogan Trying to defend the use of the word “lynching” pic.twitter.com/KnYuJLTDca
— Brian J. Karem (@BrianKarem) October 22, 2019
While Gidley argued that Trump did not mean to compare his impeachment inquiry to one of America’s “darkest moments,” the president used that exact language in his Tuesday tweet: “So some day, if a Democrat becomes President and the Republicans win the House, even by a tiny margin, they can impeach the President, without due process or fairness or any legal rights. All Republicans must remember what they are witnessing here - a lynching. But we will WIN!”
So some day, if a Democrat becomes President and the Republicans win the House, even by a tiny margin, they can impeach the President, without due process or fairness or any legal rights. All Republicans must remember what they are witnessing here - a lynching. But we will WIN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 22, 2019
Gidley’s attempt to tell reporters about Trump’s contributions to African-American communities echoed his appearance on Fox News earlier Tuesday.
“HBCU funding is at historic levels,” explained Gidley in the segment, who added factoids about “opportunity zones in inner cities,” criminal justice reform and more.
White House deputy spokesman Hogan Gidley defends Trump's "lynching" comment: "Let's talk about what the president has done for the African-American community." Then he goes on to cite purported help to HBCUs and enterprise zones. pic.twitter.com/ABvA6zvdlu
— Oliver Willis (@owillis) October 22, 2019
Gidley also provided a similar defense of Trump’s language.
“The president wasn’t trying to compare himself to the horrific history in this country at all,” said Gidley.
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WH spokesman Hogan Gidley claims Trump was not comparing his treatment to that of the thousands of blacks who were lynched when he used the exact words, "lynching," that was used to describe those attacks. pic.twitter.com/jOWoaAtzNF
— Oliver Willis (@owillis) October 22, 2019
This article originally appeared on HuffPost.