Trump says he feels "very badly for Paul Manafort" upon departure for Alabama, Georgia in wake of tornado deaths
As he departed for a trip to survey tornado damage, President Trump spoke about the sentencing of his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort. On Thursday night, Manafort was sentenced to 47 months in prison.
"I feel very badly for Paul Manafort," the president told reporters on the White House South Lawn Friday morning. "I think it's been a very, very tough time for him but if you notice both his lawyer, a highly respected man, and a very highly respected man, a judge, the judge said there was no collusion with Russian. This had nothing to do with collusion. There was no collusion. It's a collusion hoax."
That's not exactly what Judge T.S. Ellis said, however. Ellis said Manafort was not in his court "for anything having to do with colluding with the Russian government."
Mr. Trump also told reporters his former attorney Michael Cohen, claiming Cohen "lied" about a possible pardon. Cohen sued the Trump Organization Thursday, claiming the president's business empire failed to pay him nearly $2 million in legal fees. "It's the most ridiculous suit I've ever seen," Mr. Trump said of the lawsuit.
Mr. Trump also called Democrats the "anti-Israel party," after the House passed a weakened resolution to condemn hate following comments many perceived as anti-Semitic made by Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar. The resolution, originally intended to condemn anti-Semitism, was broadened to encompass far more, and failed to mention Omar by name.
"I thought yesterday's vote by the House was disgraceful," the president told reporters. "Because it's become, the Democrats have become an anti-Israel party. They've become an anti-Jewish party."
In Alabama and Georgia, the president is surveying the damage of a tornado that took the lives of at least 23 people, including seven from the same family. There, the president and the first lady took a moment to honor the crosses that stood as a memorial for the lives lost.
The president also took time to sign hats and Bibles at one church, a woman at one church told White House reporters in the press pool.
Mr. Trump expressed his condolences earlier this week as well.
"We grieve by your side and we pledge our unwavering support to help you rebuild from the very depths of this horrible tragedy," the president said Monday.