White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley appeared on Fox News Thursday to do a little spin for the president. Gidley was there to tell everyone that Donald Trump and his staff of third-rate scam artists had not in fact ambushed the parents of a dead teen by attempting to surprise them with a photo op with their child’s killer.
In August, 19-year-old Harry Dunn was killed in a village in England when a car driven by Anne Sacoolas, traveling on the wrong side of the road, struck his motorcycle. Sacoolas, the wife of a U.S. intelligence official, fled the country, claiming diplomatic immunity in the case. Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn, Harry’s parents, came to the United States in the hope of drumming up support and awareness and of getting Sacoolas brought back to the U.K. to face justice and some resolution.
On Tuesday, the parents were surprised to be contacted by and then brought to the White House to meet with Trump himself. After speaking with him briefly, they told the press that Trump and his staff had tried to rush them into a photo op surprise meeting with the woman who killed their son. While they were diplomatic in how they spoke about Trump specifically, they were clear that the whole event was “rushed,” and that the White House showed little empathy for either them or Anne Sacoolas.
Gidley, armed with the words of the two grieving parents who were in the room, came onto Fox News to say that there was nothing to see here. Speaking with two Fox News hosts whom I will identify as Things 1 and 2, he had this exchange after they asked him whether he had been in the room, and to explain the parents’ calling the event an ambush.
GIDLEY: Well, I’ve spoken with the president directly about this, and it is just a horrific situation. He offered his condolences to the family. He understands the gravity of this moment and the gravity of the situation.
So, let’s break that bit down. It sounds like Gidley wasn’t in the room, or at least is pretending he wasn’t in the room. He spoke with Trump about it, and he wants you to know that Trump isn’t a monster: Monsters don’t understand the gravity of a tragic situation. Now watch out!
GIDLEY: He did this simply on the behest of Boris Johnson, in fact, to meet with that family. He wasn’t trying to ambush anybody. The fact is, he wanted to offer his condolences. He understood exactly what was going on, and of course, the diplomatic relationship we share with the U.K. as well, and he was simply trying to offer his condolences to a grieving family facing a horrific situation.
So, it’s Boris Johnson’s fault that Trump was meeting with them, but Trump already did want to meet with them to offer condolences, but Trump isn’t senile, he knows what’s going on, and he also understands that there are international relationships at stake. Gotcha.
THING 1: Did he apply pressure on that family to meet with that woman?
GIDLEY: Absolutely not. He was wonderful in that setting, explained to them how heartfelt and how sad he was about the situation. That’s all that was, was to offer his condolences and share in their grieving.
So, you were in the room? He was “wonderful in that setting”? But the best answer is coming up.
THING 2: Apparently they described it as an “ambush.” Why would they … ?
THING 1: They described the scene as “terrifying.” And they described the president’s aides as “henchmen.”
GIDLEY: Again, that’s their description. I didn’t get any of that when I talked to the president about the situation. In fact, he was the one calming everybody down, and saying, Listen, I’m just here to offer my condolences to you who have suffered such a horrific loss. That’s what this president does in these situations. It’s sad that people come out, look, they are entitled to their own opinion about the matter, but the president didn’t pressure anybody. He doesn’t do that in those situations. He’s a father, he’s a grandfather. He understands this type of sadness …
Gidley is back out of the room! Interesting, because there are thousands of families that have been separated and continue to be separated, their children put in cages, that Donald Trump doesn’t seem to care about at all. So Deputy Press Secretary Gidley is telling the world that the parents who met with Trump lied about everything. He says this because he was not in the room, but a known pathological liar told him so.