Trump Calls Report He Wanted a Snake-Filled ‘Moot’ on Border ‘Fake News’ While White House Issues Non-Denial
President Donald Trump has accused the media of going ‘crazy’ in a misspelled tweet about the southern border. The President was responding to a story that said he wanted to shoot migrants in the leg and fortify the border with a moat, possibly filled with snakes or alligators.
“Now the press is trying to sell the fact that I wanted a Moot stuffed with alligators and snakes, with an electrified fence and sharp spikes on top, at our Southern Border,” Trump tweeted, misspelling ‘moat’ as ‘moot’.
“I may be tough on Border Security, but not that tough. The press has gone Crazy. Fake News!”
However, the official White House response to the report was essentially a non-denial. Principle Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley made a statement referencing inaccurate press reports but stopped short of denying the details of the story.
WH responds to @nytimes story by @shearm & @juliehdavis. @realDonaldTrump reportedly suggested privately that border officials should shoot migrants in the legs to stop them:” There have been so many wild, inaccurate and offensive fake news characterizations“ per @hogangidley45 pic.twitter.com/KnLEa1IjwB
— Fin Gómez (@finnygo) October 2, 2019
“There have been so many wild, inaccurate and offensive fake news characterizations,” Gidley said.
