Trump Contradicts Mike Pompeo: U.S. Doesn’t Support Protesters in Iran
President Donald Trump has said that the United States does not support the protesters in Iran, directly contradicting his Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo. Trump made the remarks during a press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron ahead of a NATO summit.
Trump was asked about the protesters, who oppose the current Iranian government, and in a throw away comment disagreed with Pompeo.
“You mentioned earlier the Iran protest. Does the United States support these protesters in Iran?” a reporter asked.
“I don’t want to comment on that, but the answer is no, but I don’t want to comment on that,” Trump said.
On Monday, Pompeo said the U.S. did support the protesters. He spoke to Fox News and said ‘we’ve done our best to make sure they can continue to communicate by using the internet.’ As the New York Times outlined this week, the U.S. has been very obviously in support of the protests.
This administration has been strongly opposed to the current Iranian government and supporting the protesters make sense in light of that policy. Trump’s comment flies in the face of his administration’s policy.
Watch Trump’s statement above, via CNN.
UPDATE
Shortly after Trump made the comment about Iran, the President walked it back. He told the press that he thought the question had referred to financial support but that otherwise the U.S. did support the protesters. Trump makes the correction in the video below, via Fox News.
His official Twitter account also sent a message of support for the Iranian protesters, likely in an effort to avoid any doubt about the administration’s policy.
The United States of America supports the brave people of Iran who are protesting for their FREEDOM. We have under the Trump Administration, and always will!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 3, 2019
This was a surprisingly swift clarification for the President, who has often refused to walk back obviously incorrect comments.
