Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

‘Do you regret all your lying?’ Trump quizzed by White House reporter who waited five years to ask question

‘Do you regret at all, all the lying you’ve done to the American people,’ SV Dáte asked Trump

Matt Mathers
Friday 14 August 2020 08:15 EDT
Comments
Trump ignores reporter's question on whether he 'regrets all the lying'

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

When reporter SV Dáte finally got to ask the US president a question, he kept it simple.

“Mr president, after three and a half years, do you regret at all, all the lying you’ve done to the American people?”

Mr Dáte, White House correspondent for the Huffington Post, later said he had been waiting for five years to ask the question.

Appearing startled, Donald Trump responded: “All the what?”

“All the lying, all the dishonesties,” Mr Dáte continued, during a White House press conference on Thursday.

“That who has done?” Mr Trump replied, in an apparent attempt to deflect the question.

All the lying “you have done,” Mr Dáte continued, before being cut off from finishing his sentence.

Mr Trump then called on another journalist after appearing not to appreciate Mr Dáte’s line of questioning, a tactic that has become commonplace throughout his presidency.

Mr Dáte won plenty of plaudits on Twitter after putting the question to the president.

“Not all heroes wear capes,” wrote one user. “BRAVO”.

“Thank you for your courage today. Funny how that liar had nothing to say,” another wrote.

Meanwhile, others questioned why Mr Dáte’s colleagues did not follow up on his question.

“It would have been appropriate for the person following you asking a question stayed on point instead of letting him off the hook,” one said.

“Not a strong moment of solidarity”.

At the coronavirus briefing, the president again suggested that mail-in balloting would lead to voter fraud, a claim roundly dismissed by experts.

He also pedalled a false claim that California senator Kamala Harris may be ineligible for the vice president’s office.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in