White House Defends Donald Trump’s Tweets About Elderly Man Pushed By Police

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany defended Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated tweet suggesting that the 75-year-old man pushed by police in Buffalo New York was an “ANTIFA provocateur.”

As Reuters reports, McEnany spoke to Fox & Friends on Wednesday, where she and host Brian Kilmead discussed Martin Gugino, the man who was pushed by police before falling backward and hitting his head on the pavement, becoming critically injured.

Trump has suggested that the man was a provocateur who set-up the police and was using a “scanner” to stymie crowd suppression efforts. He also suggested that the man fell harder than he was pushed, as The Inquisitr previously reported.

“Does the president think that this guy is part of Antifa?” Kilmeade asked.

“The president was raising questions based on a report that he saw, questions that need to be asked and every case we can’t jump on one side without looking at all of the facts at play,” McEnany responded.

She went on to suggest that Gugino had made some provocative statements on social media.

“This individual has some very questionable tweets, some profanity-laden tweets about police officers. Of course, no one condones any sort of violence. We need the appropriate amount of force used in any interaction, but there are a lot of questions in that case,” she said.

The president’s tweet came after far-right network One America News Network aired a piece accusing Gugino of being an ANTIFA agent, though they offered no evidence for their claim. Friends, however, say that the man is a peace activist.

Kilmeade pressed McEnany, asking if the timing was right to make such a tweet considering the ongoing unrest in the country. She replied that while the president acknowledges the injustice of George Floyd’s death, “it’s his prerogative” to raise questions about Gugino’s interaction with the police.

Gugino was taken to the hospital and was in intensive care and the incident gained nationwide attention after video of the interaction spread. People criticized the police for using excessive force against the man, who appeared to be peaceful, and for walking by him while he lay bleeding on the ground. Gugino is still hospitalized for his injuries, though he has been released from intensive care.

Two of the police in the incident have been charged and 50 officers resigned from the special unit in protest. Gugino has retained a lawyer but has said that he has no comment other than “Black Lives Matter.”