Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump holds a press conference at Trump National Doral on July 27, 2016, in Doral, Florida.
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But rather than focusing exclusively on the fact of the payment – reportedly made in euros, Swiss francs and other currencies – and the apparently suspicious timing, Mr Trump went further, first when addressing a rally in Florida on Wednesday.
Immediately people began to wonder what he was talking about.
In his latest remarks, Trump also conflated two groups of USA captives in Iran.
“Now, here’s the awesome thing: Over there, where that plane landed, top secret, they don’t have a lot of paparazzi”.
“They have a flawless tape, obviously done by a government camera, and the tape is of the people taking the money off the plane”, Trump continued.
“Yes”, Hicks said in an emailed response.
Donald Trump said Friday he didn’t see video on TV of a plane carrying $400 million in cash to Iran, a rare reversal of comments he made on the campaign trail earlier this week. The video is of a different type of plane and was not in Tehran, as Trump describes.
And so, it seemed, Mr Trump was wrong. “You saw that, with the airplane coming in – nice plane”, he said. Nice plane. And the airplane coming in. But then the revolution and hostage crisis occurred, causing the USA to cut off diplomatic relations with Iran and freeze Iranian assets in America.
While we know Trump has lied many times before, this latest fabrication is reminiscent of last year’s incident in which he claimed he saw footage of “thousands” of Muslims cheering on rooftops in New Jersey following the September 11 terrorist attacks. The billionaire further stated that the video was provided to “embarrass our president because we have a president who’s incompetent”. Trump said. “It’s only for one reason”.
When asked by a reporter for her view of the Iranian money shipment, Clinton skipped over numerous recent revelations about the transfer. The Geneva footage Trump saw, then, does not illustrate the transaction.
When asked if he believed the US government paid a “ransom” to free him and the other Americans, Abedini didn’t provide a direct answer.
It is not clear if this is meant to be a literal description or whether the shots are just general views of the airport.
President Barack Obama quieted speculation that the cash transfer was a ransom for the release of the hostages on Thursday, saying the timing was a coincidence. The footage is labelled “January 17”, the day of the release of the US citizens and of the announcement of the $400 million payment.
The State Department had previously announced the payment – part of a $1.7 billion package settling a previous financial dispute – on the same day President Obama announced that Iran would release several American prisoners, which led many critics of the administration to suggest that the payment was effectively ransom.
Obama said the deal was separate from negotiations aimed at releasing US prisoners held by Iran, and talks on the nuclear agreement with Tehran.
“They have been told these are classified briefings”, Obama said.
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Trump rarely recognizes his gaffes, and despite a week full of various quarrels-including lashing out at Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the Pakistani-American, Gold Star parents of slain U.S. Army Captain Humayun Khan, after they criticized him for proposing a temporary ban on Muslims entering the U.S. -the NY billionaire claims his campaign is more unified than ever.
