That Trump Tweet? Republicans Prefer Not to See It

New York Times logoEven when presented with a printout of the president’s incendiary Twitter comment, Republicans toiled to avoid commenting.

WASHINGTON — On the 161st day of the fourth year of the Trump presidency, having grown accustomed to Republican lawmakers’ favorite excuse for refusing to comment on President Trump’slatest incendiary tweet, reporters resorted to a rare tactic.

They printed out copies of Mr. Trump’s post — this one containing an unsubstantiated suggestion that an older protester shoved and injured by the police in Buffalo was an Antifa provocateur who staged his own assault — for any Republican who might try to fall back on what has become a stock response: “I didn’t see the tweet.”

It did not work. Even faced with documentary evidence of the president’s inflammatory remark, most Republicans averted their gaze on Tuesday, declining to comment as they darted through the hallways of Capitol Hill and appearing to wish away what was on paper in front of them. Continue reading.