President Donald Trump was widely criticized on Thursday for saying that “NBC Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt “was caught fudging” his May 2017 interview with him, during which Trump admitted that he fired former FBI director James Comey because of his frustration with the Russia investigation.
“If anyone in the GOP had a scintilla of integrity, the 25th Amendment would have been invoked a long time ago. Overtly lying to US that he didn’t tell Lester Holt he fired Comey over Russia quite simply proves he’s out of his f—ing mind,” wrote director Rob Reiner on his Twitter account.
The president, in yet another lengthy tweet storm, ripped NBC News chairman Andy Lack and CNN boss Jeff Zucker. Trump strongly suggested that both men be fired and repeated his assertion that the media is the “enemy of the people.”
Trump tweeted: “What’s going on at @CNN is happening, to different degrees, at other networks – with @NBCNews being the worst. The good news is that Andy Lack(y) is about to be fired(?) for incompetence, and much worse. When Lester Holt got caught fudging my tape on Russia, they were hurt badly!”
The revelation from that May 2017 interview was damaging for Trump, but many critics said the “fudging” attack is less than truthful. Most pointed to the entire interview, which is readily available on NBC’s website.
“FWIW, the entire Lester Holt interview has been posted to NBC’s website ever since May 2017. If there’s something exculpatory in it, Trump might want to point it out,” wrote Washington Post senior political reporter Aaron Blake.
You can read more reactions here:
https://twitter.com/AaronBlake/status/1035124642456002565
Trump is lying about Lester Holt. The entire unedited interview was posted online. And Trump is likely lying about it because he now understands that he put himself in legal danger by admitting, on camera, that he fired Comey *because* he was investigating Trump’s campaign. https://t.co/sLzEUMgmF5
— Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) August 30, 2018
As a former prosecutor, I know that when defendants make incriminating admissions on tape, they often argue the tape was fudged. They invariably lose because people trust their eyes & ears. The Lester Holt interview with @POTUS has been online since May 2017. Watch it. https://t.co/o2zJdXUCBt
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) August 30, 2018
The man who this morning told America that the Lester Holt Interview we saw of him admitting to obstruct justice didn't really take place, is the same man who controls 6,600 nuclear war heads.
Is anyone else a bit scared?
Just a little?
— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) August 30, 2018
Nearly 16 months after Trump confessed to Lester Holt that he’d fired Comey over “the Russia thing,” he suddenly claims that NBC had “fudged” the tape of Holt’s national interview❗️This obvious lie is itself a confession that Trump now realizes the import of what he admitted. https://t.co/Hd3xtfHeOp
— Laurence Tribe 🇺🇦 ⚖️ (@tribelaw) August 30, 2018
Fox News debunks Trump claim that NBC 'fudged' his televised confession to Lester Holt pic.twitter.com/uFjB6NcsW0
— Tommy moderna-vaX-Topher (@tommyxtopher) August 30, 2018
More than a year later, Trump is suddenly claiming that NBC “fudged” his interview with Lester Holt, in which Trump admitted he fired Comey over Russia.
The full interview is available online. What exactly was fudged? https://t.co/YUUtBQThlf
— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) August 30, 2018