Trump on ‘chosen one’ remark: I didn’t realize media would claim I had a ‘Messiah complex’

by Jessica Campisi - 08/24/19 11:31 AM ET

President Trump on Saturday ripped media coverage of his remarks earlier this week in which he declared himself “the chosen one” to take on decades of unfair Chinese trade practices, emphasizing he was speaking sarcastically.

“When I looked up to the sky and jokingly said ‘I am the chosen one,’ at a press conference two days ago, referring to taking on Trade with China, little did I realize that the media would claim that I had a ‘Messiah complex,’” Trump tweeted. “They knew I was kidding, being sarcastic, and just having fun.

“I was smiling as I looked up and around,” he continued. “The MANY reporters with me were smiling also. They knew the TRUTH…And yet when I saw the reporting, CNN, MSNBC and other Fake News outlets covered it as serious news & me thinking of myself as the Messiah. No more trust!”

When I looked up to the sky and jokingly said “I am the chosen one,” at a press conference two days ago, referring to taking on Trade with China, little did I realize that the media would claim that I had a “Messiah complex.” They knew I was kidding, being sarcastic, and just….

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 24, 2019

Trump’s tweets came hours after the president said late Friday that he wasn’t being serious about his remarks about being “the chosen one.”{mosads}

“You know exactly what I meant. It was sarcasm. It was joking. We were all smiling. And a question like that is just fake news,” he told reporters at the White House before leaving for his trip to France for the Group of Seven summit.

Trump raised eyebrows on Wednesday when he looked up toward the sky and said he believed he was “the chosen one” to fight decades of trade cheating by China amid a long-running and escalating trade war with the country.

The remark prompted discussion on cable news and drew headlines such as “Yes, Donald Trump really believes he is ‘the chosen one.'”

“Somebody said this is Trump’s trade war. It’s not my trade war. This is a trade war that should have taken place a long time ago by a lot of other presidents,” Trump said in his remarks Wednesday. “Somebody had to do it. I am the chosen one. Somebody had to do it, so I took on China. I took on China on trade, and you know what? We’re winning.”