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Trump Calls Jussie Smollett’s Alleged Hoax an Insult to ‘Millions’

Trump Calls Jussie Smollett’s Alleged Hoax an Insult to ‘Millions’

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump said “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett insulted tens of millions of people when he allegedly staged an attack on himself that was designed to appear as the work of Trump supporters.

Trump commented hours after Smollett turned himself in to face charges in the alleged fabrication.

Chicago police said Smollett was arrested and charged with felony disorderly conduct after an investigation revealed he falsely reported the Jan. 29 attack on a Chicago street. Smollett claimed two masked men attacked him and uttered the words, “This is MAGA country,” which is an apparent reference to Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Terrence Dopp in Washington at tdopp@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Kasia Klimasinska at kklimasinska@bloomberg.net, John Hughes, Vivek Shankar

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