Trump says he was just joking when he called himself the 'chosen one'


President Trump wants everyone to lighten up.
Trump's claim while looking at the sky that he was the "chosen one" when it comes to taking on China in the trade realm elicited groans on Wednesday. But the president insists the comment was just sarcasm. Before departing for the Group of Seven summit in France late on Friday, a reporter asked Trump about the remark, to which he scoffed in response.
"Let me tell you, you know exactly what I meant," Trump said, steadfastly maintaining that he was joking. "We were all smiling," he added before dismissing the question as fake news.
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Trump may very well have been messing around, but the president did not appear to be smiling, as he claimed on Friday. Besides, as the old saying goes, there is a grain of truth in every joke.
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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
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