'Brazen' Trump, Called Beirut Explosion a Bomb but Says "I Don't Know" (Summary)

Defense Minister Changes Position After Expressing Accident Opinion
Denies Fault and Claims No One Can Know

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] U.S. President Donald Trump revised his view on the Beirut explosion in Lebanon's capital from a "bomb attack" to "no one can say the cause."

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

On the 5th (local time), during a White House COVID-19 task force briefing, President Trump responded this way when asked about Defense Secretary Mark Esper referring to the Beirut explosion as an accident.

On the same day, Defense Secretary Mark Esper stated, "Most people consider the Beirut explosion an accident," presenting an opinion contrary to President Trump's statement the day before. The Department of Defense had previously mentioned that there were no signs of an attack in this explosion.

When asked, President Trump did not admit to a mistake and only evaded. He said, "I don't think anyone can say right now. We are looking into it very strongly." He added, "Some people think it was an attack, and some people do not."

In the briefing the previous day, President Trump called the Beirut explosion a "terrible attack" and said the generals he spoke with judged it to be an attack. He also speculated that it might have been a kind of bomb. This contradicted the Lebanese authorities' announcement that it was an accident caused by flammable materials, raising the possibility of controversy.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.