The Huffington Post has published a photograph (above) of former Mexican president Vicente Fox giving Donald Trump the finger, taken a day before Fox apologized to Trump in an interview with Breitbart News.
The photograph was originally shared on social media by Ben Mathis, host of the KickAss Politics podcast, which interviewed Fox last Tuesday. Breitbart News interviewed Fox the following day in Santa Monica, California.
Mathis posted the photograph with the message: “Vicente Fox & I have a message for Donald Trump. Listen to a preview of his most controversial interview yet, recorded just one day before his apology to Trump aired on Breitbart.”
On Twitter, KickAss politics teased the interview as Fox “responding” to Trump — though the two had already responded to each other, with Fox apologizing via Breitbart and Trump accepting the apology the following day.
KickAss politics also added the “NeverTrump” hashtag.
The “Never Trump” movement includes conservatives who have resolved not to vote for Trump even if he is the Republican nominee.
According to Huffington Post overnight editor Ed Mazza, Fox told Mathis that Trump is an “ugly American” and “hated gringo,” and reiterated that he would not pay for the “fucking wall” on the border, adding: “And please don’t take out the ‘fucking’ full word.”
Mazza adds:
In the Kickass Politics conversation, Fox was anything but apologetic. He called the presumptive Republican presidential nominee “crazy” and a “false prophet,” and compared him to Latin American demagogues who “destroy economies.” He also said some of Trump’s proposals could lead to war.
“Don’t play around with us,” Fox said. “We can jump walls. We can swim rivers. And we can defend ourselves.”
The following day, Fox told Breitbart: “I apologize. Forgiveness is one of the greatest qualities that human beings have, is the quality of a compassionate leader. You have to be humble. You have to be compassionate. You have to love thy neighbor.”
Update: The Huffington Post has attached its mandatory disclaimer on all Trump stories:
Editor’s note: Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims — 1.6 billion members of an entire religion — from entering the U.S.
Update 2: BuzzFeed wants credit for calling attention to the photo:
BuzzFeed previously banned pro-Trump opinions from its site.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. His new e-book, Leadership Secrets of the Kings and Prophets: What the Bible’s Struggles Teach Us About Today, is on sale through Amazon Kindle Direct. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.