Trump waded into a “he said/he said” debate with the Wall Street Journal, claiming that the paper had deliberately misquoted him. Trump hit twitter early this morning to dispute a quote that appeared in the Wall Street Journal story about his relationships with Asian leaders, and specifically the way he described his relationship with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
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WSJ quoted Trump as saying “I probably have a good relationship with Kim Jong Un.”
Trump disputes the transcript.
The Wall Street Journal stated falsely that I said to them “I have a good relationship with Kim Jong Un” (of N. Korea). Obviously I didn’t say that. I said “I’d have a good relationship with Kim Jong Un,” a big difference. Fortunately we now record conversations with reporters…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2018
And because he’s probably kicking himself that no one went full “Eliza Doolittle” on him to teach him better diction, he adds this for good measure.
…and they knew exactly what I said and meant. They just wanted a story. FAKE NEWS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2018
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The Wall Street Journal responded by releasing audio tape of the interview along with a transcript provided by a third party.
We have reviewed the audio from our interview with President Trump, as well as the transcript provided by an external service, and stand by what we reported. Here is audio of the portion the White House disputes. https://t.co/eWcmiHrXJg pic.twitter.com/bx9fGFWaPw
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) January 14, 2018
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White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders released this State Propaganda-style rebuttal.
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) January 13, 2018
Then she followed up with the White House’s own recording of the interview.
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Here is the official audio showing WSJ misquoting @POTUS pic.twitter.com/wVwoafYkHg
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) January 14, 2018
Critics on Twitter asked Sanders why it took the White House so long to issue a complaint about the misquote – it took until Saturday night for a complaint to show up online about it. The story ran on Thursday, but the White House did not air grievances until days later.
Sanders claimed the White House asked for a correction on Friday, but did not get it. Still, that’s a full 24-36 hours before anything appears on Twitter. And if Trump’s track record shows anything, it’s that there’s usually no lag time between a thought popping into his head and it emerging half formed on Twitter.
WSJ stood by its transcription in a follow up article today.
Maybe this is one reason why everyone harping on the President for his un-presidential style of speech has some real value. Someone get this guy a Henry Higgins so we can at least accurately transcribe the nonsense coming out of his mouth.