NOTHING TO SAY

GOP Lawmakers Have Conveniently Not Seen Trump’s Bonkers Tweet on Buffalo Protester

The tweet in question accused a 75-year-old Buffalo protester, who was shoved by police, of being an “antifa provocateur.”

Republican lawmakers have distanced themselves from President Donald Trump’s tweet on Tuesday morning that baselessly accused Martin Gugino, the 75-year-old Buffalo protester who was shoved to the ground by police, of being an “antifa provocateur.” Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) all said they had not seen the tweet. “I didn't see it. You’re telling me about it. I don't read Twitter. I only write on it,” Rubio, who is very active on Twitter, told CNN. Senator John Thune (R-SD) said he had seen the tweet but he had not seen evidence to support the “serious accusation” that the president was making. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) called Trump’s tweet “shocking” and said he “won’t dignify it with any further comment.”

Republican National Committee spokeswoman Elizabeth Harrington deleted a retweet of the president’s original tweet. In her retweet, she had quoted from a news article that said the Buffalo mayor had accused Gugino of inciting looting and vandalism—however it later emerged that the mayor was referring to a different protester.