Trump does not regret promoting conspiracy theory about elderly man shoved to ground by police, press secretary says

'The president was asking questions about an interaction in a video clip he saw, and the president has the right to ask those questions'

The White House press secretary has defended President Donald Trump after he promoted a conspiracy theory that claimed an elderly man who was shoved by police officers in viral video footage was an "Antifa provocateur".

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters at a briefing on Wednesday the president had “facts” before writing in a tweet about the video: “Buffalo protester shoved by Police could be an Antifa provocateur. 75-year-old Martin Gugino was pushed away after appearing to scan police communications in order to black out the equipment.”

She declined to provide what those specific facts were that led the president to promote the claim, which circulated on right-wing corners of the web.

“The president was asking questions about an interaction in a video clip he saw, and the president has the right to ask those questions” the press secretary said. When asked if he regret tweeting out the claims, she added: “The president does not regret standing up for law enforcement men and women across this country.”

Mr Gugino, who can be seen falling to the ground in the viral video after being shoved by officers, was participating in demonstrations in Buffalo, New York over the death of George Floyd and police brutality. He has been described as a “gentle” man by his friends, who spoke out as he received attacks online about his involvement in the protests. The 75-year-old is a member of the Catholic Worker Movement, and volunteers with multiple non-profits.

Democrats on Capitol Hill have condemned the president for his tweet about Mr Gugino, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D—NY), who said the president “should go back to hiding in the bunker instead of tweeting baseless conspiracies about peaceful protestors and further dividing America” in a statement.

Ms McEnany continued defending the president on Wednesday, saying he was “in no way condoning violence” or “passing judgement” on the involved officers, “but what he was saying was this: when we see a brief snippet of a video, it’s incumbent upon reporters and those who are surveying the situation to ask questions.”

“The president did have facts before he tweeted it out, that undergirded his questions,” she added.

A reporter then informed the press secretary the claims about Mr Gugino were unfounded, to which she responded: “It’s not a baseless conspiracy. No, not at all. I won’t acknowledge that.”

The defence echoed similar statements the press secretary made during an interview with Fox News on Wednesday morning. When asked to expand on the president’s claims about Mr Gugino being associated with Antifa, she again said he was “raising questions based on a report that he saw”.