The White House said Monday that President Donald Trump was speaking rhetorically when he said he should have let three college basketball players accused of shoplifting remain in a Chinese jail.
In a news briefing, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump "was happy to see the release of these individuals and have them back in the United States" — even though he lashed out Sunday at Lavar Ball, the father of one of arrested players, for mocking the president's role in their release.
"It was a rhetorical response to a criticism by the father," Sanders said of his comment the players should have remained in jail, adding: "I think it was less about the players. And the father of one of the Americans releasing to have a problem with it – frankly, didn't seem like the father wanted the president to intervene, which I would have been a sad thing if he hadn't."
Pressed on whether Trump really felt the players should have been left in jail, Sanders declared: "No."
"If that's the case, he wouldn't have taken the action that he did – and certainly acted in order to help get those individuals released and brought back to the country," she said.
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