Trump Fires Back: I'm Not 'Obligated' to Defend Obama

First time I'm in trouble for 'NOT saying something,' he complains
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 19, 2015 11:17 AM CDT
Trump Fires Back: I'm Not 'Obligated' to Defend Obama
Donald Trump speaks at a town hall event Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015, in Rochester, N.H.   (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

When Donald Trump initially took flak for not challenging a questioner's assertion that President Obama is a non-American Muslim, his campaign explained that he hadn't heard that part of the question. This morning, however, Trump himself took to Twitter in a far more defiant tone: "Am I morally obligated to defend the president every time somebody says something bad or controversial about him? I don't think so!" he tweeted. Then he pointed out that "this is the first time in my life that I have caused controversy by NOT saying something."

He reeled off three more, one asserting that president Obama wouldn't have defended him if the situation were reversed, another saying the media would have castigated him on free-speech grounds if he had challenged the man, and another saying that Christians' "religious liberty is at stake" around the world. (Still, critics are pouncing, including the White House.)

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