“You know, this Russia thing…”
President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Wednesday to once again defend his decision to fire former FBI Director James Comey. But in the year since Comey’s unceremonious dismissal, Trump’s explanation for the firing has changed.
“Slippery James Comey, the worst FBI Director in history, was not fired because of the phony Russia investigation where, by the way, there was NO COLLUSION (except by the Dems)!” Trump tweeted on Wednesday.
Slippery James Comey, the worst FBI Director in history, was not fired because of the phony Russia investigation where, by the way, there was NO COLLUSION (except by the Dems)!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 18,2018
But in a May 2017 interview with NBC’s Lester Holt, following Comey’s dismissal, Trump said he had made the decision to fire Comey by himself after considering “this Russia thing.”
“What I did was — I was going to fire Comey,” Trump said. “My decision,” he said, explaining that he had made up his mind even before receiving a recommendation from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
“And, in fact, when I decided to just do it, I said to myself, I said: ‘You know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made up story, it’s an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should’ve won.’”
In fact, the president said the opposite on camera last May: “In fact when I decided to just do it, I said to myself, I said ‘you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story.’” https://t.co/Dy3IFFQ9mT
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) April 18,2018
Trump’s latest tweet in blatant contradiction of his own video-recorded confession to Lester Holt reminds me of the Soviet-era saying: “The future is certain, it is only the past which is unpredictable.”
— David Frum (@davidfrum) April 18,2018
Trump went on national television and told Lester Holt that he fired James Comey because of the “Russia thing.” It’s on video. https://t.co/ZRdLNuGiDl
— Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) April 18,2018
Trump may want to walk back his explanation for the firing now, but the internet certainly hasn’t forgotten his initial statement.
