CNN guest apologizes after falsely claiming Trump was part of ‘human sex trafficking network’
Gun control activist Cameron Kasky issued an apology, albeit a seemingly sarcastic one, on Tuesday for falsely claiming live on CNN that President Donald Trump was part of a "human sex trafficking network," insisting that he said it "by accident and didn’t mean it."
Kasky appeared on "CNN NewsNight" Monday during a panel discussion about Trump’s reported interest in Greenland and whether it was tied to the Nobel Peace Prize. During a conversation about how Trump has been transparent about the Nobel Prize, Kasky made a false claim that nearly went unchecked.
"I would love it if he was more transparent about the human sex trafficking network that he was a part of, but you can’t win them all," Kasky said on CNN.
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CNN host John Berman, filling in for Abby Phillip, didn’t immediately correct the record, prompting conservative panelist Scott Jennings to say, "You gonna let that sit? Are we going to claim here on CNN that the president is part of a global sex trafficking ring?"
Berman responded, "We’re going to talk about the Epstein files. Scott, I will do the fact-checking as we go along here."
Berman then asked Kasky, who survived the Parkland school shooting in 2018 and led the March for Our Lives movement, to repeat his claim about sex trafficking.
"That Donald Trump was provably very involved with it," Kasky said.
"OK, we’ll get to that later. Donald Trump has never been charged with any crimes in relation to Jeffrey Epstein," Berman said.
Kasky attempted to defend himself, saying "Let’s be serious," before Berman moved the conversation along.
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The following day, Kasky took to X to "truly apologize," and insist he made the claim "by accident."
"I would like to retract my comments from CNN last night and truly apologize. Donald Trump was obviously not involved with a giant international child sex trafficking ring where women and children were systematically raped by elites. I said that by accident and didn’t mean it," Kasky wrote.
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A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
CNN did not immediately respond to a request for comment.