The White House hit back at a NewsNation report claiming President Donald Trump had mixed up two congressmen during his Michigan rally on Tuesday evening.
Trump marked the first 100 days of his second term at a rally with his supporters in Warren, Michigan, where he touted his accomplishments in deporting illegal immigrants, defended his tariff policy and criticized former President Joe Biden.
At one point, Trump brought up the impeachment effort launched against him this week by Michigan Democratic Rep. Shri Thanedar.
“And today they did it again,” Trump told the crowd. “Some guy that I’ve never heard of.”
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“John James, is he a congressman, this guy?” Trump turned his head and asked Michigan Republican Rep. John James, who was reportedly in attendance, which lawmaker was trying to impeach him.
Trump continued to mock Thanedar’s announcement on Monday that he was introducing seven articles of impeachment, and said, “What the hell did I do? Here we go again. They want to impeach me. This lunatic.”
NewsNation reported afterward that Trump had “mistakenly accused the wrong congressman —Republican Rep. John James — of sponsoring a resolution to impeach him.”
“In front of a jeering crowd, Trump said, ‘Some guy that I never heard of. John James. Is he a congressman this guy? … What the hell did I do? Here we go again. This lunatic,'” the outlet reported.
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“The impeachment effort was actually launched by Democratic Rep. Shri Thanedar,” the report continued.
NewsNation’s report initially included a subheadline labeled, “Trump mistakes Michigan Congressman who called for impeachment.”
The outlet appeared to think he was referring to James as the congressman trying to impeach him, but the video showed Trump was addressing James to ask him a question.
NewsNation updated its article with a statement from the White House disputing that characterization on Wednesday.
“The President was asking John James — who was in the crowd — about Democrat Congressman Shri Thanedar. If NewsNation watched the actual exchange, they would’ve known that,” the White House said.
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NewsNation’s report was also cited in the Politico Playbook newsletter Wednesday morning.
Politico reported that “Donald Trump seemingly mixed up John James and Shri Thanedar” and linked to the NewsNation report. The White House comment was also included in their report.
When reached for comment, the White House told Fox News Digital, “The media is more concerned with pushing hoaxes to attack President Trump than getting the story right and reporting the truth. It is no surprise that America’s trust in the media is at historic lows, but the Administration continues to call out the fake news.”
NewsNation and Politico did not respond to requests for comment.
