# Trump: Do you believe he misspoke, or is he backpedaling? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 17, 2018, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-do-you-believe-he-misspoke-or-is-he-backpedaling/818110 "2018-07-17T23:55:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-do-you-believe-he-misspoke-or-is-he-backpedaling/818110/61 "2018-07-18T14:42:21Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > It was neither. > > It was a desperate figleaf for the Republicans in Congress. And it wasn’t his idea. His babysitters made him do it after changing his diapers. This. They probably didn’t tell him he did something wrong, though-that way leads to unemployment. They likely told him that if he reverses what he said it’ll shut people up. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-do-you-believe-he-misspoke-or-is-he-backpedaling/818110/62 "2018-07-18T15:01:31Z")
He did what he always seems to do…ignore his advisers and just say what pops into his head without regard to consequences, which are for lesser men. He probably is surprised at the backlash, since it’s all part of what he’s been saying all along wrt the CT and deep state horseshit. He most likely was expecting the liberals to bash him and his own side to lionize him for telling it like it is. Now that this isn’t going to plan he’s got some lame ass ‘I misspoke’ bullshit going, but I watched the clip where he walked this all back and you could tell he didn’t believe a word of it and this was simply to appease the folks on his side he angered. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-do-you-believe-he-misspoke-or-is-he-backpedaling/818110/63 "2018-07-18T15:09:18Z")
Interviewers should sit down with people like Newt Gingrich, watch the tape from the walkback and then point blank ask them if they think it was believable. I’d love to see their answers/reactions. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-do-you-believe-he-misspoke-or-is-he-backpedaling/818110/64 "2018-07-18T15:21:39Z")
I’d like to ask the one person who clicked _Trump misspoke and meant to say “Why wouldn’t it be Russia?”_ whether he watched the actual statement on TV or 'Net? The words were not uttered out of context by a robotic voice. Anyone who watched and heard the statement and still think it was a slip-of-tongue is .,… well, what’s the joke? Tell the bartender to give me one of whatever he’s been drinking too much of. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-do-you-believe-he-misspoke-or-is-he-backpedaling/818110/65 "2018-07-18T15:49:55Z")
That person misclicked. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-do-you-believe-he-misspoke-or-is-he-backpedaling/818110/66 "2018-07-18T15:52:35Z")
Or maybe they were just fucking with everyone. 😛 I can’t recall the last time the board was so unified in agreement on a single topic. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-do-you-believe-he-misspoke-or-is-he-backpedaling/818110/67 "2018-07-18T16:05:23Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > This is not to give him a pass. It’s not “Oh, it’s okay because he doesn’t know what he is saying”, it’s “He doesn’t know what he is saying, so pretty much disregard anything he says. It’s all just crap” And yet you posted one of his tweets in the pit earlier today… And seem to support him being president. The mind boggles. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-do-you-believe-he-misspoke-or-is-he-backpedaling/818110/68 "2018-07-18T16:16:53Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > [ul] > [li]Trump tends to be very non-confrontational when in the presence of actual people even when he might be trashing them out of their presence. (E.g. he tends to say nice things about relations with Europe when in the physical presence of European leaders.)[/li][/ul] Tell that to Angela Merkel, Hillary Clinton, Jeb Bush,… I’m sure Trump is very happy that some people think he’s polite and statesmanlike, but that don’t make it so. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-do-you-believe-he-misspoke-or-is-he-backpedaling/818110/69 "2018-07-18T16:22:45Z")
I don’t know how anyone can listen to what he was saying at the ‘summit’, hearing his tone and inflection, and possibly think that he absolutely didn’t mean to say “would”. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-do-you-believe-he-misspoke-or-is-he-backpedaling/818110/70 "2018-07-18T16:27:16Z")
[quote=“Fotheringay-Phipps, post:54, topic:818110”] It’s beyond obvious that he was backpedaling, and I don’t think this is a serious question. That said, I don’t think the initial statement was as depicted by many posters here either. You have to consider the following: [LIST] [li]Trump tends to be very non-confrontational when in the presence of actual people even when he might be trashing them out of their presence. (E.g. he tends to say nice things about relations with Europe when in the physical presence of European leaders.)[/li][/quote] Except that that isn’t true. That statement is either deluded as all fucking hell or is just straight up spreading propaganda, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-do-you-believe-he-misspoke-or-is-he-backpedaling/818110/71 "2018-07-18T16:30:43Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Tell that to Angela Merkel, Hillary Clinton, Jeb Bush,… Bush and Clinton have no connection to this, in that he was debating them at the time. But Merkel is one of the European leaders I was thinking of. From [Business Insider](http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-insults-germany-then-says-he-has-good-relationship-with-merkel-2018-7) > [@](#): > > President Donald Trump on Wednesday claimed to have a “very, very good” with German Chancellor Angela Merkel just hours after causing an uproar at the NATO summit in Brussels when he said Germany was “controlled” by Russia. > > “We had a great meeting discussing military expenditure,” Trump said in front of TV cameras. “We’re talking about trade. We have a very, very good relationship with the chancellor. We have a tremendous relationship with Germany.” > > Directly addressing Merkel, who was sitting next to him, Trump added, “You’ve had tremendous success, and I congratulate you.” I’ve seen media commentary about this tendency somewhere or other, but didn’t find it in a brief search just now. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-do-you-believe-he-misspoke-or-is-he-backpedaling/818110/72 "2018-07-18T17:20:27Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > After almost two years, hasn’t it become painfully obvious who and what this man is? I was reading _Spy Magazine_ in the late 80s. It’s been painfully obvious what the deal is for at least 30 years. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-do-you-believe-he-misspoke-or-is-he-backpedaling/818110/73 "2018-07-18T17:21:38Z")
Voted “backpedaling.” ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-do-you-believe-he-misspoke-or-is-he-backpedaling/818110/74 "2018-07-18T17:32:35Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > That person misclicked. _The ballot was confusing!_ ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-do-you-believe-he-misspoke-or-is-he-backpedaling/818110/75 "2018-07-18T17:54:36Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > And yet you posted one of his tweets in the pit earlier today… And seem to support him being president. The mind boggles. I laughed at one of his tweets. And I don’t support him as President. I didn’t vote for him. I just enjoy laughing at the inanities that come out of his talk hole. I thought you had me on ignore anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-do-you-believe-he-misspoke-or-is-he-backpedaling/818110/76 "2018-07-18T18:39:29Z")
I went with “other”, because he’s not backpedaling, not really. The way I see it: he’s an idiot, and he thought he did a great job in Helsinki and everything was just fine as usual (in his mind). Then he got back to the US, and a bunch of Republican senators and other grown-ups immediately sat little Donnie down and told him he just screwed the pooch big-time, and he was going to have to go in front of the cameras and say _these exact words_ to try to patch things up, and they would hustle him out afterwards with no questions. So, he’s not backpedaling, this is totally begrudging on his part. He barely even managed that statement, he wanted to go off-script _so badly_. He did screw up the statement in part anyway. “Yeah, maybe Russia, could be other people too.” I don’t get how there are people, like my own father, who are blind to the fact that he absolutely _cannot_ speak ill of Russia, and there is something beyond suspicious about that. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-do-you-believe-he-misspoke-or-is-he-backpedaling/818110/77 "2018-07-18T18:51:44Z")
Backpedaling and lying, though lying through a script. If Trump’s nose grew an inch for every lie, we could get to the ISS by climbing it to orbit. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Quatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc8723/32.png) [@Mr\_Quatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Quatro)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-do-you-believe-he-misspoke-or-is-he-backpedaling/818110/78 "2018-07-18T18:52:51Z")
The replay of Trump’s answer clearly pronounced ‘would’ on purpose … no doubt about it, but being a room with Putin for two hours or more can do that one’s mind from an evil ruler of his people known to kill his adversaries. What would you do call Putin a liar to his face? They say Trump got very mad on Air Force One on the way home … I suspect he saw and heard his mistake and corrected it a day later. I bet he really feels bad being called the worse president in modern history. I still like him … better than Hillary that’s for sure :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-do-you-believe-he-misspoke-or-is-he-backpedaling/818110/79 "2018-07-18T19:14:59Z")
I am with whoever commented that Trump never knows what he will say until he hears himself say it. I really wonder whether he is seriously suffering senile dementia. Backpedaling of course, but that might be the least of it. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-do-you-believe-he-misspoke-or-is-he-backpedaling/818110/80 "2018-07-18T19:33:28Z")
> [@Mr\_Quatro](#): > > What would you do call Putin a liar to his face? There’s this whole discipline of statecraft called “diplomacy” meant to deal with exactly that kind of thing. I’ll be honest, I’m not sure what diplomacy calls for when a foreign leader blatantly lies to you, but I’m sure there’s a bit of middle ground between “calling putin a liar” and “saying there’s no reason to take your own intelligence sources seriously”. > [@](#): > > They say Trump got very mad on Air Force One on the way home … I suspect he saw and heard his mistake and corrected it a day later. You mean after he reasserted his main point in his Hannity interview? [Or when he went back to rejecting the conclusions of his intelligence _today_](https://www.vox.com/2018/7/18/17586956/trump-russia-putin-intelligence-no-coats)? Are you the guy who voted “misspoke”?! Did you notice how your fellow conservatives in the thread don’t think this is a serious question, because it’s so obvious that this is backpedaling? Did you actually read his statements? “Would” makes _no goddamn sense_ in context. “Wouldn’t” does. > [@](#): > > I bet he really feels bad being called the worse president in modern history. Well, at the end of the day, he’s still rich beyond my wildest dreams. He could retire right now, buy an island, and spend all day paying prostitutes to piss on him. But I guess those of us who merely have to contend with making rent wouldn’t know anything about how awful it is to be the worst leader of the free world in a long time. > [@](#): > > I still like him … better than Hillary that’s for sure :smack: Yeah, it really would have sucked to have a president who knows the first fucking thing about statescraft at a time like this, huh? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-do-you-believe-he-misspoke-or-is-he-backpedaling/818110.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-do-you-believe-he-misspoke-or-is-he-backpedaling/818110.md?page=5)