Trump just said he 'knows nothing about Wikileaks.' During the last month of the 2016 race, he mentioned it 145 times.
President Trump is back with another blatantly obvious lie.
On Wednesday, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested after Ecuador revoked an asylum claim that let him live in its London embassy. The U.S. Department of Justice then charged Assange with conspiracy to hack Pentagon computers, prompting a reporter to ask Trump if he "still love[s] Wikileaks." "I know nothing about WikiLeaks. It's not my thing," Trump responded — a confusing statement given that he'd repeatedly declared his love for the site during his 2016 campaign.
By C-SPAN's count, Trump mentioned WikiLeaks at least 44 times throughout presidential debates and campaign rallies in 2016. And by NBC News' tally, he said "WikiLeaks" at least 145 times during the last month of the race alone. They weren't just innocent mentions — Trump went so far as to call Assange's site a "treasure trove" after it exposed emails from Hillary Clinton's campaign manager John Podesta, and he repeatedly said, "I love WikiLeaks." Watch a highlight reel of all that love below. Kathryn Krawczyk
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
A running list of the US government figures Donald Trump has pardonedin depth Clearing the slate for his favorite elected officials
-
Ski town strikers fight rising cost of livingThe Explainer Telluride is the latest ski resort experiencing an instructor strike
-
‘Space is one of the few areas of bipartisan agreement in Washington’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
-
Trump says US ‘in charge’ of Venezuela after Maduro grabSpeed Read The American president claims the US will ‘run’ Venezuela for an unspecified amount of time, contradicting a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio
-
Bari Weiss’ ‘60 Minutes’ scandal is about more than one reportIN THE SPOTLIGHT By blocking an approved segment on a controversial prison holding US deportees in El Salvador, the editor-in-chief of CBS News has become the main story
-
CBS pulls ‘60 Minutes’ report on Trump deporteesSpeed Read An investigation into the deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s notorious prison was scrapped
-
Trump administration posts sliver of Epstein filesSpeed Read Many of the Justice Department documents were heavily redacted, though new photos of both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton emerged
-
Trump HHS moves to end care for trans youthSpeed Read The administration is making sweeping proposals that would eliminate gender-affirming care for Americans under age 18
-
Jack Smith tells House of ‘proof’ of Trump’s crimesSpeed Read President Donald Trump ‘engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election,’ hoarded classified documents and ‘repeatedly tried to obstruct justice’
-
House GOP revolt forces vote on ACA subsidiesSpeed Read The new health care bill would lower some costs but not extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies
