Donald Trump continues lie over Tom Coburn remarks about Ted Cruz
Donald Trump’s campaign used a quote that was wrongly attributed to retired Sen. Tom Coburn to bash rival Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), according to the retired Oklahoma Senator.
“The senator just came out — the senator from Oklahoma who is a very highly respected senator — he said he’s one of the most dishonest people he’s ever worked with. That’s a hell of a statement. I never even heard a statement like that,” Trump said, hours after he had deleted his tweet making the claim.
Trump’s director of social media, Dan Scavino, also deleted his tweet incorrectly quoting Coburn.
“It’s an absolute fabrication. I’ve never said that, period,” Coburn responded. “It’s unfortunate he would use my name to say something dishonest. It’s a total fabrication.”
“To me, it’s more of loose play with the truth and loose play with the words,” Coburn added.
Dan Scavino, Trump’s social media director, reportedly posted a tweet quoting Coburn, saying, “He is, without a doubt, one of the most dishonest people in D.C.,” referencing Cruz. That tweet was then retweeted by Trump.
“However, the quote appears to come directly from progressive website ForwardProgressives.com and writer Allen Clifton, who used the exact language to describe Cruz,” the Washington Examiner reports.
“I’ve made no secret of my total disdain for Sen. Ted Cruz,” Clifton wrote. “He epitomizes everything that’s wrong with the Republican party. He is, without a doubt, one of the most dishonest people in Washington and, in my opinion, a complete sociopath.”
Cruz’s spokesman Rick Tyler responded to the incident, saying, “There is a reason ‘trumped up’ means phony.”
Trump also referenced the false Coburn quote during an earlier event in North Augusta, South Carolina, as he was slamming Cruz as “dishonest.”
Coburn was critical of Cruz in an interview last fall, knocking the Texas senator and GOP presidential hopeful for creating “greater disappointment in the hinterlands” by making pledges to stop Obamacare with President Barack Obama still in office.
“You gave them a false hope, knowing that you couldn’t accomplish it, but it was about yelling, and screaming, and waving the flag,” Coburn said in October.
[…] Donald Trump continues lie over Tom Coburn remarks about Ted Cruz […]