Donald Trump refused Sunday that his claim a protester was a member of the Islamic State was based on a hoax, despite ample evidence.
Trump posted a hoax video of a man who rushed the stage at one of the boisterous New Yorker’s rallies in Ohio on Saturday.
NBC “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd asked the GOP front-runner what his thoughts were on the video now that “it turned out to be a hoax.”
Trump could not admit it. “If you look on the Internet …he’s carrying an American flag,” he said.
“Excuse me,” Todd interrupted. “Somebody made that up.”
“I don’t know if he was or not,” Trump said. “All we did was put out all he had on his Internet,” Trump said.
He admited that he did not seek to confirm anything about the protester before posting the video.
“He’s dragging the flag, the American flag, which I resepct obviously more than you!” Trump told Todd. “He also had chatter about ISIS.”
“You have to check it before you ask the question,” Trump said, ignoring Todd’s statement that it was a confirmed hoax.
Todd jumped in: “We have checked it. That’s my point, sir.”
“There are not ties to ISIS for this man,” Todd said, adding that CNN checked with law enforcement. “This video you linked to appears to be a hoax.”
Trump immediately tried to turn it around. “Was it a hoax that he’s dragging the flag?” he asked. “What do I know about it? All I know is what is on the Internet.”
