Donald Trump said he didn’t know or couldn’t remember 36 times in his written answers to special counsel Robert Mueller’s questions, according to the redacted version of the Mueller report released on Thursday.
It wasn’t just minor details the president was unable to remember. His inability to recall touched on some of the main components of Mueller’s investigation.
As MarketWatch pointed out, “Trump’s alleged memory gaps go to the heart of key questions, including whether he was aware of Russian interference.”
It led MSNBC’s Chris Matthews to ask this question on Thursday night:Â “How many times can you get away with saying ‘I don’t remember’ and still be able to pass a competence test?”
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Video:
Trump said ‘I don’t recall’ 36 times in his written responses to Mueller. #ctl #p2 pic.twitter.com/mEXTGu4kgt
— PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) April 19, 2019
Matthews said:
A review of the president’s responses to Mueller’s written questions shows that the president claimed on 36 occasions that he did not recall, did not remember, had no recollection that the special counsel was seeking. Cynthia, how many times can you get away with saying ‘I don’t remember’ and still be able to pass a competence test? Thirty-six times he said I don’t know.
Either Trump is incompetent or just a liar – or both
The American people – even the minority of the country who supports Donald Trump – know that he is a serial liar. The frequency with which he lies has only increased as he feels the heat of the ongoing investigations into his potentially criminal conduct.
But the second concern raised by the president’s non-responses to Mueller’s questions is whether Trump is even mentally competent enough to hold the office. As Chris Matthews noted, repeatedly being unable to remember major events isn’t exactly a good sign about Trump’s overall competency.
Ultimately, either Trump repeatedly lied to Robert Mueller about what he knew regarding Russia’s involvement during the 2016 campaign, or he is simply incompetent.
Both of those possibilities should concern the American people.
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Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
