Politics

‘They Knew I Was Kidding’: Trump Responds To ‘Fake News’ Over ‘Chosen One’ Jest

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President Donald Trump hit back at “Fake News outlets” Saturday that alleged he had a “Messiah complex” after he looked up to the sky and said he had been “chosen” to take on China.

Trump spoke to reporters Wednesday and discussed the trade war with China. Trump glanced up at the sky at one point and said, “I am the chosen one,” joking about how the war had chosen him, not the other way around.

“The MANY reporters with me were smiling also. They knew the TRUTH,” Trump tweeted. “And yet when I saw the reporting, CNN, MSNBC and other Fake News outlets covered it as serious news & me thinking of myself as the Messiah.”

Journalists and media outlets went after Trump for the joke, with MSNBC legal analyst Glenn Kirschner tweeting that the president is “dangerously unhinged.”

The president tweeted about “Fake News outlets” Saturday following the blow-up and wrote everyone knew he was “kidding” and “being sarcastic.”

When I looked up to the sky and jokingly said “I am the chosen one,” at a press conference two days ago, referring to taking on Trade with China, little did I realize that the media would claim that I had a “Messiah complex.” They knew I was kidding, being sarcastic, and just….

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 24, 2019

….having fun. I was smiling as I looked up and around. The MANY reporters with me were smiling also. They knew the TRUTH…And yet when I saw the reporting, CNN, MSNBC and other Fake News outlets covered it as serious news & me thinking of myself as the Messiah. No more trust!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 24, 2019

New York Daily News featured the comment on the front page of its newspaper Thursday, and the main photo was the president depicted as Jesus during the “Last Supper.” An MSNBC “Morning Joe” panel discussed the comment Thursday as well and the segment started with a compilation of fictional characters saying they were chosen.

CNN’s Don Lemon also discussed the joke with a panel Thursday evening. Author Michael D’Antonio took the comment at face value.

“Oh, I think, you know, first he had to write the line, ‘I’m the chosen one,’ and then he had to practice it,” D’Antonio said Thursday. “He probably had Ivanka [Trump] come in and critique and tell him how it looked. She said, ‘It looks terrific, daddy.’ This is absurd.”