Republican Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford took to Twitter on Wednesday to counter a Politico story that reported a tense encounter between President Donald Trump and Democratic Delaware Sen. Chris Coons over abortion.
Politico reporter Gabby Orr described a “tense scene in the White House Blue Room” between Trump and Coons the night before last week’s National Prayer Breakfast, when the president supposedly “leaned in close to Coons … and laced into the Democratic senator over controversial moves to extend the legal window for abortion that have roiled New York and Virginia politics in recent weeks.”
“He was in his face about it,” said one person familiar with the exchange. The person described Trump as extremely “worked up.”
“He saw a Democrat in the room, a Democrat who’s known to be a person of faith, and he was like, ‘Why aren’t you speaking out about this?'” the source added.
Another source who was in the room confirmed the account, describing the moment as both ‘awkward’ and attention-grabbing. Rarely has Trump been so vocal about abortion when the masses aren’t watching, this person said. (A Coons spokesman declined to comment.)
SCOOP: Trump confronted Sen. Coons over abortion at a White House dinner last week. Sources in the room described the moment as “awkward,” saying Trump got in Coons face & yelled for 10 mins https://t.co/zGxCb3t6TG
— Gabby Orr (@GabbyOrr_) February 14, 2019
Responding to Orr’s tweet less than an hour after the story posted, Lankford took particular issue with her description of the exchange: “I was in that dinner-POTUS did not ‘lace into Coons’ he was not ‘in his face’ and POTUS was not ‘worked up.’ There was a conversation about abortion but POTUS simpy asked a question to understand Sen Coons perspective- @ChrisCoons shared his thoughts and so @realDonaldTrump.” (RELATED: Jeff Flake Yucks It Up With Chris Coons At Global Citizen Festival – ‘Join Me In An Elevator Anytime’)
I was in that dinner-POTUS did not “lace into Coons” he was not “in his face” and POTUS was not “worked up.” There was a conversation about abortion but POTUS simply asked a question to understand Sen Coons perspective- @ChrisCoons shared his thoughts and so @realDonaldTrump
— Sen. James Lankford (@SenatorLankford) February 14, 2019