Trump's go-to excuse

[DonViejo]

Mike Allen1 hour ago

Last week's cover of Der Spiegel, the German news magazine, shows a smug President Trump — backed by Russia's Vladimir Putin, China's Xi Jinping and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan — and proclaims "Das Zeitalter der Autokraten," the age of the autocrats.

Why it matters: It's a common enough perception of Trump. So his description of North Korea's Kim Jong-un to Fox News' Steve Doocy on Friday got lots of coverage.

"Hey, he’s the head of a country. And I mean he is the strong head. ... He speaks and his people sit up at attention. [Pointing to the West Wing.] I want my people to do the same."

Asked about the comment a few minutes later during his first-ever gaggle on the North Lawn, Trump said: "I’m kidding. You don’t understand sarcasm. Who are you with? Wait, wait, who are you with? Who are you with? ... You’re with CNN! Hey, you are the worst."

Rewind some tape, and you find that this White House has used the "just kidding — you don't get it" response before:

more
https://www.axios.com/donald-trump-jokes-joking-excuse-comments-kim-jong-un-ed8f5790-cf76-401c-ba1c-d6d8cf0a9f27.html

[unblock]

1. Mini-unblock used to use the "just kidding" excuse. When he was five.