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Donald Trump Almost Apologizes For Saying Wrong Things, Then Fails Simple Fact Check

By Christine Beswick
Published on: 04:26 PST, Aug 19, 2016

It’s a history making moment for Elections 2016, or at least, it could have been. Last night at a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, Donald Trump expressed regret for saying wrong things according to CNN on August 18. It’s very difficult for many to believe, as he is still failing one fact check after another, about things that he doesn’t even need to lie about.

A moment of genuine contrition could have been a good thing for him. This is likely the only reason he even said those things. Unfortunately, nobody knew what he regretted, or what he was almost apologizing for. It’s the Donald Trump Almost Apology.

It’s the typical Donald Trump style. Say two completely opposite things in one statement, and wait to see which one sticks. Unfortunately for him, a moment of almost genuine spirit, may not be enough for the national game at this point.

An apology is not supposed to leave people confused. Here is a clip of what Donald Trump said in his words, that some are calling an “apology.”

There’s a problem when someone says scandalous things, and then tries to brush it off as sarcasm. They are very difficult to believe or be seen as genuine after that.

This is the Donald Trump problem, and why the GOP showed a massive Trump defection this week, citing his lies as one of the biggest reasons they want the RNC to withdraw his funding.

Donald Trump has a habit of telling many stories, most of which start off with anecdotes of how many properties he owns, and how many people like him. They then move into a passive aggressive slam of some sort. It’s almost as if he’s waiting to see if people react with shock, and then when they do, he calls it sarcasm.

Like the time he suggested the second amendment people could figure out a way to deal with his opponent Hillary Clinton. Or the time he said President Obama founded ISIS. He then later went on the record to say, that was just sarcasm, “I was just joking.”

ABC News has chronicled 6 things Donald Trump claims were sarcasm. Not many people are buying the sarcasm line. Donald Trump is learning through the polls that America doesn’t like those jokes so much.

In true Trump style, his speech last night in Charlotte, North Carolina, included anecdotes of how many properties he has, and how much the people there like him, and how well he pays them.

He started off his speech telling people he had just met with “our many amazing employees” and saying how great they thought he was, and how much they liked him. “They like me very much.”

This might even be true. He may have had employees tell them they like him. Most employees will say that to their boss, even when they don’t, because they like to keep their job.

Donald Trump then went into the tragedies happening in Louisiana, and almost sounded Presidential. “We are one nation, when one hurts, we all hurt. Words can not express the sadness at times like this.”

These are things a President would say. But is this too little too late?

Last night he also talked a little bit about being politically correct. He said, “I’ve never been politically correct. It takes far too much time.”

In other words, he can’t be bothered to be nice. But a President is required to be. A President is required to take that time, to be politically correct.

If any one person in a nation is required to be “politically correct,” it’s the political President of that time. That’s what President’s do, that is their job description.

For Donald Trump, that takes “far too much time.” Then he went on to say some things that almost sounded like an apology. Some are even calling it that today, but nobody is very clear on what he meant.

Donald Trump said, “Sometimes in the heat of debate, and speaking on a multitude of issues, you don’t choose the right words, or you say the wrong thing. I have done that. And I do regret it, particularly where it may have caused personal pain. Too much is at stake for us to be consumed with these issues.”

In other words, Donald Trump is saying, I don’t want you to focus on the wrong things I’ve said, even though there are a lot of them. There’s “too much at stake”, but not for America, for Donald Trump. These things he said that are wrong and caused pain are likely going to cost him the Presidency, is what many experts are saying today.

Donald Trump also said last night, “But one thing I can promise you is this. I will always tell you the truth.”

To this, a lot of people are saying, “Okay, Pinocchio.” They don’t even know what he’s apologizing for, since he intentionally did not say anything specific.

Additionally, a lot of people are saying, “Too little too late” and, “What happens if you slip if you are President?”

It’s just hard to buy it at this point for many, and the “regrets” which aren’t even a real apology, aren’t being viewed as genuine. Nobody knows exactly what he regrets.

Does he regret suggesting the second amendment people take care of his opponent? Does he regret saying President Obama founded ISIS? Does he regret the statements that have led to him being labeled a racist misogynist? Nobody knows.

At the same time, how does anybody know that he’s not just being sarcastic? That seems to be his favorite line for when he gets busted for saying something downright shameful.

It’s very difficult for anybody to believe what he says anymore, even the GOP have called him dishonest. He takes one little kernel of information, and turns it completely into something that it is not.

His entire second amendment speech about Hillary Clinton is one big fact check fail after another. What he said about Hillary Clinton and gun control was that, “Hillary Clinton wants to abolish the second amendment.”

Fun fact: No, she doesn’t. Fact check fail, Mr. Trump.

Those claims of Hillary Clinton were cited as “absurd” by the Washington Post, “persistent and false” by CNN, and as just plain ridiculous by anyone that knows Hillary Clinton’s position on gun control. She doesn’t want to touch the second amendment.

What she actually said at the Democratic National Convention is, “I don’t want to take away your guns. I want them out of the hands of the people who shouldn’t have them in the first place.”

Sounds like Hillary Clinton’s plan is more like heavier background screening, and, making sure that the people that shouldn’t have them in the first place, aren’t able to get them. Hillary Clinton also said at the Democratic Convention that she did not want to take on the second amendment, she wanted to take on the gun lobby.

CNN notes that her proposals for future legislation on gun control include an increase in tax on handguns, a ban on assault weapons, repealing laws that allow for concealed weapons, and a stronger emphasis on background checks, especially where guns are being sold privately. Her model, outlined in her own gun control briefing on the Hillary Clinton website is to “act on gun violence.”

Hillary Clinton says, it’s time to stop the 33,000 senseless deaths a year. It’s a model that greatly reflects the regulations of the Bill Clinton Administration, that saw a 73 percent decrease in the number of licensed gun dealers.

Hillary Clinton does not want to abolish the second amendment. She wants Americans to stop dying senseless deaths from gun violence. The polls on gun control show that most Americans want the same things, and support the policies that Hillary Clinton proposes.

But those aren’t Donald Trump’s only fact check fails. His most recent claims on this Twitter feed can be very easily disputed.

On August 16 he posted a report from the Washington Examiner saying, the post convention bumps are over. The Washington Examiner seems to be suggesting that Hillary Clinton’s double digit leads in almost every swing state are post convention bumps.

But they aren’t. Donald Trump tweeted, “it’s just a 2-point race.”

No, it is not. Fact check fail, Mr. Trump. For the Washington Examiner it is just a 2-point race. But there’s a reason that’s the only poll Mr. Trump is tweeting.

He’s losing, big, in every other poll. And that’s not because of a post-convention bounce for Hillary Clinton. It’s because every time Donald Trump opens his mouth, he ticks more people off.

That’s why the GOP defected from him this week. His temperament, and his dishonesty.

The New York Times Elections 2016 polls have a 5-point lead for Hillary Clinton nationally. Reuters has the same result. The Economist has Hillary Clinton with a 6-point lead nationally.

But the national polls aren’t even the most important right now. The electoral college numbers are the most important numbers for both candidates. Hillary Clinton is enjoying a landslide there now.

It’s currently a tie between her and Donald Trump in Georgia. Donald Trump should be much farther ahead here, and is in danger of losing Georgia, a state that Mitt Romney won easily in 2012. He’s having the same problem in Nevada, where Clinton is currently ahead by 2 points.

She’s also got a double digit lead in Colorado, Michigan, New York, Virginia, California, Maine, and a 9-point lead in Florida.

On August 19, 2012, Real Clear Politics data shows us that the race was much tighter. President Obama was leading 47.8 percent to 44.4 percent for Mitt Romney. Mitt Romney also had Georgia by a 5-point lead, North Carolina by a 3-point lead, West Virginia, Arizona by a 7-point lead, and South Dakota at the end of the day.

Donald Trump is struggling in most of these states. This is precisely why Project 538 reported this week, the polls aren’t skewed, Donald Trump really is losing badly.

It’s not a 2-point race, not by any stretch. Fact check fail, Mr. Trump.

Another fact check fail for Donald Trump happened just this morning. In a tweet this morning, Donald Trump slammed the New York Times. Donald Trump tweeted just this morning that it was a “dying” newspaper.

No, it is not. Fact check, fail for Donald Trump. This is Donald Trump’s way of saying, “I don’t like the report they did exposing Paul Manafort’s getting millions Ukraine.”

And it is a little weird that Donald Trump printed that tweet this morning, literally moments before news broke that Paul Manafort resigned from the Trump campaign. We previously reported when Paul Manafort was benched, just this past Wednesday.

Now he’s resigned? It’s impossible to believe the Paul Manafort resignation has nothing to do with the New York Times report, that Donald Trump said this morning, was a dying news outlet.

Fun fact: In October 2015, the New York Times was “celebrating a breakthrough” in business, saying they have just passed the 1 million mark for new digital subscriptions, and had an additional 1.1 in print and digital subscribers. These stats, noted by both Wired and the New York Times mean, they have “more subscribers than at any time in 164-year history.”

They are anything but dying. Donald Trump fails a simple fact check, almost every time he opens his mouth. What’s the real story about the Paul Manafort resignation? It’s very easy to connect the dots there.

On Monday the New York Times printed an article that exposed Paul Manafort as accepting millions in cash from the Ukraine. On Monday he flat out denied those allegations. On Wednesday he was benched, on Friday he resigned.

Will Donald Trump even acknowledge the New York Times report, other than to say the newspaper is dying, when it’s not? Last night in North Carolina, Donald Trump said words that many are calling an apology. But nobody knows what he really means. Watch Donald Trump’s speech in North Carolina last night in its entirety right here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Xn77hJB-UA

The most recent polling data puts Hillary Clinton ahead by nine points in North Carolina. Nate Silver gives her a 73 percent chance of winning that state, and over 83 percent chance of winning the Oval Office. This is just one reason why Project 538 reported this week, he really is losing badly.

Do you think the Donald Trump apology will save anything for him at this point?

[Photo by Gerald Herbert/AP Images]

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