Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Friday that he was being sarcastic when he called U.S. President Barack Obama the founder of Islamic State.
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On Thursday, Mr Trump had refused to take the opportunity to reframe his remark to mean that Mr Obama had created the context for Islamic State’s growth.
Trump continued his rant, giving Clinton the “MVP” (most valuable player) award for her supposed role in the creation of the terrorist group. “Yeah, he did. But Trump didn’t walk it back, which is why I think it’s so remarkably newsworthy”, he said.
“When Hewitt suggested that Trump meant that “[Obama] created the vacuum, he lost the peace”. It’s a claim that Trump repeated at least a dozen times in three cities since debuting the attack-line Wednesday during a rally outside Fort Lauderdale. ISIS is honoring President Obama. He went on a rant stating: “He’s the founder of ISIS”.
The founder of the Islamic State group was Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the head of al-Qaida in Iraq who was killed in a US airstrike in 2006.
“No, I meant that he’s the founder of ISIS”, Trump said. Trump also has said his taxes are no one’s business and that they reveal little. Therefore, he was the founder of ISIS. And here’s video of Trump saying the comments, if you would like to examine his sarcastic tone. However, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called Trump’s comments “bizarre” at a news conference on Capitol Hill.
“I think it’s a pattern of him testing certain messages that resonate with his fans, seeing how they play, and then “clarifying” one way or another depending on the reaction”, said Ruth Sherman, a communications expert who has been monitoring the language used by both candidates. This is a tactic, this is not an accident, this is a tactic. “Well it wasn’t really a joke, per se”, she said.
But amid falling poll numbers and an attempted pivot marked by a major policy address that offered up his second tax plan of the campaign, most of the week was spent trying to figure out what Trump actually meant each day. Trump is usually defended by his supporters saying that he often misspeaks, since he is not a politician.
“Take a look at Orlando. He founded ISIS.” On Thursday, he reiterated the assertion, telling Hugh Hewitt, “No, I meant that he’s the founder of ISIS”. “Her weakness. Her weak policies”. “I give her too, by the way”, he added, referring to his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.
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Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric is common on the campaign trail and usually a big hit with his supporters.
