Fox & Friends' Brian Kilmeade invites Trump to 'clarify' his foreign dirt comments

Fox & Friends would like to offer President Trump a redo on his foreign dirt comments.

The president's favorite morning show on Thursday discussed his comments in an ABC interview that he might take dirt on an opponent from a foreign government and would only "maybe" report it to the FBI, a statement that has drawn fierce condemnation from Democrats.

At first, it seemed like Fox & Friends would be mounting a defense, with Steve Doocy observing that there's "so much oppo research floating around Washington, D.C." and "perhaps that's what the president's talking about," Mediaite reports. Ainsley Earhardt also seemed to back the idea that Trump need not alert the FBI to an offer of foreign intelligence because they don't "even have enough agents."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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.

Sign up

But Brian Kilmeade wasn't on this same page, chiming in to say that actually, "you don't want a foreign government or a foreign entity giving you information because they're going to want something back." Kilmeade left open the possibility that Trump just misspoke, though, suggesting that he "knows" this and has "got to clarify that."

"He opened himself wide up to attacks," Kilmeade said, going on to politely ask everyone to "keep the other countries out" of American elections.

It just so happens that Fox & Friends has an interview with Trump scheduled for Friday morning, and with Kilmeade sounding eager to ask Trump about this, we'll soon find out whether the president will take his morning show friends' advice or opt to double down instead. Brendan Morrow