United States President Barack Obama and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton founded the Islamic State terror group, according to Republican candidate Donald Trump. Later, when his remark attracted strong reactions, the 70-year-old said he did not regret making it, reported npr.
"ISIS [the Islamic State group] is honoring President Obama. He's the founder of ISIS. He's the founder of ISIS. He's the founder. He founded ISIS. And I would say the co-founder would be crooked Hillary Clinton," he said on Wednesday. Later, speaking to CNBC on Thursday, the New York real estate tycoon said, "No I meant that he's the founder of ISIS. I do. He was the most valuable player. I gave him the most valuable player award."
Defending his statement made at a campaign rally in Florida, he said, "No, it's no mistake. Everyone's liking it. I think they're liking it." He has been making similar statements against his rival Clinton since January.
Reacting to Trump's claim, Clinton's campaign aide Jake Sullivan said Trump was echoing the views of Russian President Vladimir Putin. "It goes without saying that this is a false claim from a presidential candidate with an aversion to the truth and an unprecedented lack of knowledge," he said. Clinton's campaign also took to Twitter, and said, "No, Barack Obama is not the founder of ISIS."
In a statement, the Democratic National Committee said, "Donald Trump should apologise for his outrageous, unhinged and patently false suggestions on the founding of ISIS." The DNC said the latest remark was an example of "yet another out of control statement by a candidate who is unraveling before our very eyes", reported Reuters. The White House has yet to put out a statement on Trump's claim.
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