Faking It

Trump Surrogate Admits to Falsifying His Bio

'Overstated' both his military history and education.

South Carolina preacher Mark Burns, a top surrogate for Donald Trump, has admitted to falsifying parts of his biography after being confronted by a CNN reporter. Burns, who regularly introduces Trump at campaign events, had claimed on his website to have a Bachelors of Science degree and to have served six years in the Army Reserve. CNN confronted Burns in an interview after discovering he had never served in the Army Reserve, and had served in the National Guard but been discharged in 2008. CNN also learned that Burns had only completed one semester of college and never gotten a degree. When CNN anchor Victor Blackwell first confronted Burns over the discrepancies, he claimed his website had been hacked, before saying the interview was "not fair" and walking away. He later sent a statement to CNN admitting that he had "overstated" certain details and was prepared to "take full responsibility" now. He said he was not sure if Trump's campaign had ever vetted him.