Trump: Jussie Smollett Perpetrated a Hate Crime Against Me and All of ‘MAGA Country’
FRESH WOUNDS
President Trump took to Twitter over Memorial Day weekend to remind his followers that they were the real victims of actor Jussie Smollett’s allegedly staged attack months ago in Chicago. While all charges against the Empire actor were dropped after police said he orchestrated a hate crime attack against himself, Trump wanted to set the record straight in noting that a “hate crime” really did occur—against him and his base. “In addition to great incompetence and corruption, The Smollett case in Chicago is also about a Hate Crime,” Trump tweeted. “Remember, ‘MAGA COUNTRY DID IT!’ That turned out to be a total lie, had nothing to do with ‘MAGA COUNTRY.’ Serious stuff, and not even an apology to millions of people!”
Smollett reported in January that he was the victim of an attack by two men who shouted “This is MAGA country” and put a rope around his neck. After police began to investigate the alleged incident, they said holes in his story began to emerge and he was charged with over a dozen felony counts. The next month, in a shocking twist, prosecutors dropped all the charges. The decision was met with fierce backlash across the country, including from the president. At the time, Trump called the move an “embarrassment to our country.”