WASHINGTON: Donald Trump falsely claimed Sunday that he did not call for former election rival Hillary Clinton to be jailed, telling Fox News: “I didn’t say ‘lock her up’.”
Trump, who is facing sentencing – and possible prison time – after becoming the first US president to be convicted of a felony, repeatedly demanded Clinton be put behind bars during their 2016 election battle.
The “lock her up” chant was notorious at his rallies during the campaign and for years after, and he stated that he agreed with it or called for her jailing on multiple occasions.
During the interview aired Sunday, Fox host Will Cain asked the 77-year-old about the call, which refers to Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.
“You famously said, regarding Hillary Clinton, ‘Lock her up.’ You declined to do that as president,” Cain said.
“I beat her,” Trump replied. “It’s easier when you win. And they always said ‘lock her up,’ and I felt – and I could have done it, but I felt it would have been a terrible thing. And then this happened to me. And so I may feel differently about it.”
He went on to deny joining in the chant.
“I didn’t say ‘lock her up,’ but the people said lock her up, lock her up,” Trump said.
Trump says if he is jailed that could be ‘breaking point’ for Americans
“Then, we won. And I say – and I said pretty openly, I said, all right, come on, just relax, let’s go, we’ve got to make our country great.”
US media swiftly fact-checked the claim, and some social media users posted supercuts of the Republican agreeing with the chant or explicitly calling for Clinton to be jailed.
Clinton, the wife of former president Bill Clinton, was investigated over her use of a private email server but no charges were filed. Trump was convicted last week of 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to an adult film star ahead of the 2016 election.
His sentencing date is July 11. In the Fox News interview on Sunday he also acknowledged the possibility that he could be handed jail time or a prison sentence, warning that while he was “ok with it” such a move could prove a “breaking point” for his supporters.
The warning has resonated in a country already concerned about the prospect of political violence in the increasingly heated run-up to the November 5 presidential election.
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