Trump claims he didn't 'back down' on the census, he 'backed up'

President Trump.
(Image credit: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

President Trump is once again denying that he backed down by ditching his plan to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census, this time with a real head-scratcher of an explanation.

Trump spoke to reporters on Friday after announcing his administration would no longer pursue putting a citizenship question on the 2020 census, which came after he said last week that despite an unfavorable Supreme Court ruling, his administration was still "absolutely moving forward" with that plan and that he might sign an executive order to get it done.

"Not only didn't I back down, I backed up," Trump said on Friday.

Subscribe to The Week

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

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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

Trump went on to argue that his new plan to get the information from federal agencies instead is "actually better" and that it will be "more accurate" this way, declaring that only the "fake news" would object to this characterization. The New York Times had previously reported that Trump's new order does little more than "reiterate plans the Commerce Department announced last year, making it less a new policy than a means of covering Mr. Trump's retreat from the composition of the 2020 census form." Brendan Morrow

Explore More
Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.