The initial reporting of the incident led many people to believe that the students, wearing „Make America Great Again“ (MAGA) hats, were surrounding and mocking a Native American elder, acting in a racist way. But a longer video that surfaced later has shed new light on the incident.
US President Donald Trump has voiced support for the Covington Catholic High School students, including Nick Sandmann, who ended up at the epicentre of a scandal over an alleged confrontation between them and a Native American elder, later identified as military veteran Nathan Phillips. Trump noted in his tweet that Sandmann and his fellow schoolmates had been „treated unfairly“ by media due to „early judgements“.
Looking like Nick Sandman & Covington Catholic students were treated unfairly with early judgements proving out to be false — smeared by media. Not good, but making big comeback! “New footage shows that media was wrong about teen’s encounter with Native American” @TuckerCarlson
He added that it’s a good thing that new footage had appeared later giving a different perspective on the incident, proving earlier judgements to be wrong that the students‘ actions and chants were racist.
READ MORE: Real Story Behind Alleged Conflict Between „MAGA Kids“ and Native Elder REVEALED
In a subsequent tweet the US president added that the incident with Nick Sandmann and other students has „become symbols of Fake News and how evil it can be“. He suggested though that the whole situation can unite people instead of dividing them.
Nick Sandmann and the students of Covington have become symbols of Fake News and how evil it can be. They have captivated the attention of the world, and I know they will use it for the good — maybe even to bring people together. It started off unpleasant, but can end in a dream!
The US president faced harsh backlash over his stance on this incident, with many Twitterians claiming that he is defending the racist acts of the students.
