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Fox Host Presses Trump on 2002 Comment He Made in Favor of Invading Iraq — See How He Responds

Fox Host Presses Trump on 2002 Comment He Made in Favor of Invading Iraq — See How He Responds

"Now on that, I just want to clear that up."

Donald Trump was pressed Thursday over a 2002 comment he made in support of the Iraq War, conceding to Fox News host Bret Baier that he had once spoken out in favor of an invasion, but insisting he only stated so "very weakly" at the time.

The presumptive Republican nominee's comments came after he went after former President George W. Bush for the Iraq War.

"Now on that, I just want to clear that up," Baier said. "You've come out with articles, but there's audio of you before there were—."

"No, there isn't. No, there isn't," Trump insisted.

Baier cited a BuzzFeed story that included audio of Trump telling talk show host Howard Stern he supported an invasion in Iraq.

"Yes, I'm talking to Howard Stern weeks before — the first time anybody had ever asked," Trump said, conceding he did make the comment "And don't forget, I was a civilian."

"The first time anyone ever asked me about the war, about should we go in, because it was a question, are we going in? And I said very weakly, 'Well, blah, blah, blah, yes, I guess,'" Trump added.

[sharequote]"And I said very weakly, 'Well, blah, blah, blah, yes, I guess'"[/sharequote]

"And then on the first day of the war you said that it's a tremendous military success," Baier said, referencing another comment Trump had made.

"No, I — what I said — what I said is it was a success because they thought it was a success," Trump replied. "But before that, I said they shouldn't go in."

Trump has repeatedly stated throughout the 2016 campaign that he was opposed to the Iraq War from the start, despite comments unearthed which point to the contrary.

Earlier this week, BuzzFeed Editor-In-Chief Ben Smith penned an open letter of sorts to the media, imploring them to fact check the statement. Smith wrote, "Let us dispel once and for all this fiction that Trump opposed the Iraq war."

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