Trump declined to offer an apology to the “Central Park Five” on Tuesday while taking questions from reporters as he was leaving the White House for his reelection campaign kick-off rally in Orlando. The question from White House correspondent April Ryan related to Trump’s 1989 reaction to five teens accused of raping and brutally beating a jogger, Trisha Meili, in New York City’s Central Park.
Trump, then a real estate developer, purchased full-page ads in several New York newspapers with a headline that read, “BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY. BRING BACK OUR POLICE.” The ads, penned by Trump, included quotes such as, “At what point did we cross the line from the fine and noble pursuit of genuine civil liberties to the reckless an dangerously permissive atmosphere which allows criminals of every age to beat and rape a helpless woman and then laugh at her family’s anguish?” and “I want to hate these murderers and I always will. I am not looking to psychoanalyze or understand them, I am looking to punish them.”
April Ryan, who is also an analyst for CNN, had tweeted earlier in the day, “Mr. President @realdonaldtrump will you apologize to the Central Park five?”
Mr. President @realdonaldtrump will you apologize to the Central Park five? Posted withrepost • @realdlhughley #This #TeamDl https://t.co/pqhzkqga9v
— AprilDRyan (@AprilDRyan) June 18, 2019
Trump said of the 29-year-old case, “You have people on both sides of that. They admitted their guilt.” Seemingly confused by the question, he further asked, “Why do you bring that question up now?”
The trial of the accused teens was widely publicized at the time, and has recently received renewed interest after the release of Netflix drama, “When They See Us,” which is based on the events surrounding the crime and trial. The five men, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam, and Korey Wise — at the time teenagers aged 14-16 — were convicted of the crimes in 1990. Many at the time felt that they were treated unfairly by the police and that their confessions had been coerced. Trump is featured prominently in the Netflix series, which features many comments he made to the media at the time of the crime and trial.
In 2002, all five men were cleared of charges when convicted murderer Matias Reyes confessed to the assault and rape of Meili. DNA evidence corroborated his claim. The men were awarded a $41 million settlement from New York in 2014, a decision that Trump also criticized.
