Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto accused President Trump of making conflicting statements that have given him “lots of pause.”
In wrapping up his afternoon show Thursday, Cavuto reacted to the revelation on Fox News the night before that Trump repaid his personal lawyer a sum of money that was intended to silence an adult film star about an alleged affair she had with Trump.
“Let me be clear, Mr. President. How can you drain the swamp if you’re the one that keeps muddying the waters? You didn’t know about that $130,000 payment to a porn star till you did,” Cavuto said. “You acknowledged today you were the guy behind the retainer payment that took care of this. You insist that money from the campaign or campaign contributions played no role in this transaction. Of that you’re sure. The thing is, not 24 hours ago, sir, you couldn’t recall any of this.”
Cavuto said that he was having a “devil of a time” deciphering what news was accurate and what was not.
“Your own words gave me lots of pause,” Cavuto added. “Like the time you said the Russians didn’t interfere in the 2016 elections until a lot of Republicans had to remind you they did. Came back months later, you said, well, ‘I never said that Russia didn’t meddle in the election,’ when in fact you had a lot.”
Cavuto pointed out other statements Trump has made that he claimed don’t add up or are completely inaccurate, but then confessed that there are people who are “out to get you.” He then cautioned Trump that the media is “using your own words to bash you,” and said Trump should care even if his base doesn’t.
“I guess you’re too busy draining the swamp to ever stop and smell the stink you’re creating,” Cavuto concluded. “That’s your doing. That’s your stink, Mr. President, that’s your swamp. Goodnight.”
Trump is known to tune into Fox News regularly and often uses the term “swamp” to describe the bureaucracy in Washington.
Cavuto’s comments come after Rudy Giuliani, who joined Trump’s legal team last month, told Fox News host Sean Hannity Wednesday that Trump reimbursed his personal lawyer Michael Cohen $130,000 for a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels to keep silent about her alleged affair with his client.
Trump said he knew nothing about the $130,000 payment last month aboard Air Force One, and Giuliani told the Wall Street Journal that his comments on Fox News did not contradict Trump’s because Trump was “probably not aware” of the payments at the time.
Trump tweeted Friday that Cohen “received a monthly retainer, not from the campaign and having nothing to do with the campaign, from which he entered into, through reimbursement, a private contract between two parties, known as a non-disclosure agreement, or NDA.”
