President Donald Trump says it is a “false report” that he was taken to a secure bunker while protesters gathered outside the White House on Friday night.
However, he said he went to the bunker during the for an “inspection” during the day.
“It was a false report, I wasn’t down … I went down during the day, and I was there for a tiny, little short period of time. And it was much more for an inspection,” Trump said during an interview on Fox News radio on Wednesday.
He continued, “I went down. I looked at it. It was during the day. It was not a problem. And I read about it like a big thing. There was never a problem. We never had a problem. Nobody ever came close to giving us a problem.”
When asked if the Secret Service tried to take the president to the bunker, he said, “Nope.”
He continued, “But they said it would be a good time to go down, take a look because maybe sometime you’re going to need it.”
“I looked, I was down for a very, very short period of time — very, very short period of time. I can’t tell you who went with me, but a whole group of people went with me … as an inspecting factor,” he added.
Listen to the interview below:
Trump says he went to the White House bunker for inspection:
— JM Rieger (@RiegerReport) June 3, 2020
“It was a false report. I wasn’t down— I went down during the day and I was there for a tiny, little short period of time, and it was much more for an inspection…I’ve gone down two or three times, all for inspection." pic.twitter.com/RFPi4aAsfX
Throughout the interview, Trump stressed that his “inspection” was during day, and not when demonstrations turned violent at night.
Additionally, Trump said he has gone to the bunker “two and a half” times because, “I’ve done different things.”
On Sunday, The New York Times reported that the Secret Service rushed Trump to an underground bunker at the White House on Friday night.
White House spokesperson Judd Deere did not confirm or deny that Trump was taken to the bunker.
He said, “The White House does not comment on security protocols and decisions.”
Hundreds of people gathered outside the White House to protest police brutality over the weekend. Throughout the night, demonstrations reportedly threw bricks at Secret Service officers outside the White House.
Additionally, a barricade at the Treasury Department, next to the White House, was breached.
In recent days, law enforcement has put up extra barricades in front of the White House to prevent protesters from getting too close to the building.