Politico's transcript of President Donald Trump's remarks Tuesday at Trump Tower falsely claimed that he used the word "us" to refer to the alt-right movement.
"Okay, what about the alt-left that came charging at us – excuse me – what about the alt-left that came charging at the, as you say, the alt right?" Politico quoted Trump as saying during his press conference.
But listening to the actual audio of the exchange, Trump clearly did not say "charging at us." Most other outlets, including CNN, reported that Trump said "charging at them."
Reporters on social media pointed out that Politico's transcript did not appear to match what was actually said.
This is the moment where Trump was transcribed as "what about the alt-left that came charging at us." I don't hear "us" pic.twitter.com/8b3mDTuJZ5
— Brandon Wall (@Walldo) August 15, 2017
Trump did not say "charging at us"
Trump did not say "charging at us"
Trump did not say "charging at us" https://t.co/pwIbDa3anS pic.twitter.com/bsMQCV6ylm— Tyler Kingkade (@tylerkingkade) August 15, 2017
This seems like fake news. I don't think he ever says "at us." Listen to the clip yourself. pic.twitter.com/zdZNagpOrM
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) August 15, 2017
Some reporters spread Politico's version of Trump's remarks, but deleted their tweets after re-listening to the exchange.
having listened to tape, sounds like Politico transcript I quoted was incorrect, so deleting this tweet https://t.co/ucFHG5QNby
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) August 16, 2017
Politico eventually corrected the transcript.
"In a review of the audio, we could not definitively discern Trump's exact words at that moment in the news conference," the correction reads. "The transcript has been updated to now read: 'Okay, what about the alt-left that came charging at [indiscernible] – excuse me.'"