IN an apparent backtrack, President Donald Trump has claimed the deadly blast that killed more than 130 people in Lebanon “could have been an accident.” Trump’s claimed “nobody knows” what caused the explosion in Beirut at a White House press briefing on Wednesday night. ⚠️ Read our Beirut live blog for the latest news & updates “I […]
IN an apparent backtrack, President Donald Trump has claimed the deadly blast that killed more than 130 people in Lebanon “could have been an accident.”
Trump’s claimed “nobody knows” what caused the explosion in Beirut at a White House press briefing on Wednesday night.
Read our Beirut live blog for the latest news & updates
“I can tell you, whatever happened, it’s terrible. But they don’t really know what it is, nobody knows yet,” Trump said when asked about his previous claims that the explosion was an “attack.”
“Right now you have some people that think it was an attack and you have some people that think it wasn’t,” he continued.
“In any event, it was a terrible event and a lot of people were killed. A tremendous amount of people were badly wounded, injured and we’re standing with that country.”
The president stressed his administration is looking into the blast “very strongly” and noted the positive relationship between the US and Lebanon, which he described as “a country under a lot of turmoil.”
At least 135 people, including one American, have died in the explosion as local officials continue to search for the missing and treat thousands of wounded civilians.
Trump labeled the fatal Tuesday afternoon blast an “attack” and claimed some US generals “don’t think it was an accident.”
But three US Defense Department officials contradicted the president, telling CNN there was no indication the devastating event was an attack.
More to follow…
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