When Donald Trump says the press isn’t being fair to him, he does have a point.
Like this morning, the HuffPo’s Sam Stein linked to this piece by Michael Wolff in the Hollywood Reporter that insinuates Donald Trump was clueless when asked about “Brexit” — an upcoming referendum on whether or not the Britain should leave the E.U. — during an interview in California on May 25.
According to Wolff, Trump’s “lack of familiarity with one of the most pressing issues in Europe is for him no concern nor liability at all.”
As they say, big if true:
Trump appears to not know what the Brexit is https://t.co/KotXXxIMAN pic.twitter.com/2nM1zVgjiJ
— Sam Stein (@samstein) June 1, 2016
But it’s not true. AT ALL.
Trump actually spoke at great length with Piers Morgan on Brexit in an interview in mid-May. Morgan is asking about it because President Obama had just warned the Brits on repercussions with the U.S. if they voted in favor of kicking the E.U. to the curb, so it was a very big deal at the time:
LONDON — Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump has said the U.K. leaving the European Union would not impact trade between the U.S. and Britain if he were to become president.
Trump told Piers Morgan in an interview for ITV’s Good Morning Britain that although he had investments in the U.K. he had no preference on the June 23 Brexit vote.
However, the business mogul slammed the EU as a “disaster” for migration and as “very, very bureaucratic” and “difficult” for business.
“I think if I were from Britain, I would probably not want it. I’d want to go back to a different system,” he said in the interview, which will air Monday.
When pushed by Morgan about whether the U.K. would go “to the back of the queue” if Britain chose to leave — a reference to Barack Obama’s assertion the U.S. would prefer to trade with large blocs like the EU — Trump said “certainly not.”
“With me, [Britain will] always be treated fantastically well,” he added.
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It was in all the British papers, too. Maybe Stein and Wolff missed it?
Donald Trump: Brexit would not put UK at back of queue with US https://t.co/OFjIggPjbE
— The Guardian (@guardian) May 15, 2016
Piers Morgan took to Twitter this morning to defend the GOP nominee, asking “why would he” know what Brexit means? It’s a “UK phrase”:
Why would he? UK phrase. > RT @Kia_Mak: Trump has no idea what the Brexit is https://t.co/r3XnTSTzo9 https://t.co/7bU2gTaX0J
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) June 1, 2016
I spoke to Trump re EU referendum 3 weeks ago, he was very aware of the vote. BREXIT is not a mainstream phrase in US.
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) June 1, 2016
As for U.S. voters, Morgan is right about this, too:
he's not a conventional politician. Most Americans couldn't care less if he knows the phrase BREXIT.
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) June 1, 2016
Verdict: Stein and Wolff owe Donald Trump an apology.
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