While speaking to NBC News' Katy Tur by phone, Donald Trump explained why he's absolutely certain he's not lying.
Tur repeated the conversation to Steve Kornacki on MSNBC's MTP Daily:
He says -- part of his defense is that a number of people, he said hundreds of people have been tweeting him telling him that they saw it too, and that they believe he is right. He said he would get me some phone numbers of people to call in order to confirm this story.
But I asked over and over again, Steve. This was a 20-minute conversation, me asking like a broken record, where did you see this video? Are you sure you didn't conflate video you might have seen in Gaza, Palestinians celebrating after the towers came down? He was adamant, no, he was not conflating the two. He said that he has, and I quote, “the world's best memory,” and that everybody knows that.
There you go. No possibility he confused two different events in different countries with different people. Nope, it was New Jersey and he knows it happens because "hundreds of people have been tweeting him."
Tur's report indicates that Trump is a supporter of the maxim of repeating the Big Lie so often people start believing it.
He was emphatic about seeing that video. I asked him where he saw it, he says he doesn't remember. It was a long time ago, but to maybe check the local Fox 5 in New York City. He thinks that's maybe where he saw it. He also repeatedly pointed to “The Washington Post” over and over again, saying “The Washington Post” confirms it, that they were talking about tailgate parties in Jersey City. I said, well, “The Washington Post” from what you posted said there were a number of people detained and that it was allegedly detained. And he said he didn't care. He knows that it was confirmed. And according to him, tailgate parties mean thousands and thousands of people.
So Donald Trump is not backing away from these comments at all. But that is to be expected. He's never really backed away from any comments that have drawn criticism across this campaign, even comments that have been flying in the face of fact.
It could be that he's right. That if you lie and lie emphatically enough, people will believe it. Think back to "death panels" and "Obama is a Muslim," and you start understanding his strategy better.
