Two days ago, Donald Trump said he would have his people “look into” paying the legal fees of John McGraw, the 78-year-old who threw an elbow into the face of an unsuspecting protester at one of his rallies. Now, that story has changed.
On ABC’s “Good Morning America” Tuesday, Trump was asked if paying those legal fees was “encouraging violence.”
He responded, “No, because I don’t condone violence, and I didn’t say I was going to pay for the fees.”
Host George Stephanopoulos then asked, “So you’re not going to?”
“No, I didn’t say that. I haven’t looked at it yet,” Trump said, “and nobody’s asked me to pay for fees, and somebody asked me the question, and I haven’t even seen it. So I never said I was going to pay for fees.”
Watch:
Stephanopoulos asked him the same question again.
“Well, maybe so, and maybe that’s why I wouldn’t do it,” Trump replied. “I don’t condone violence at all, and I watched, and I’m going to make a decision, and maybe you’re right, and maybe that’s why I wouldn’t do it.”
On Feb. 1, Trump told a crowd at a rally, “There may be somebody with tomatoes in the audience. So if you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would you? Seriously. OK? Just knock the hell … I promise you, I will pay for the legal fees. I promise, I promise. It won’t be so much, ’cause the courts agree with us too.”