'Great win in Montana!' Trump trolls his traveling press corps with snark about congressional winner who body-slammed a political reporter 24 hours before the polls closed
- Greg Gianforte won the Montana special election with 50.2 percent of the vote
- He used his victory speech on Thursday to apologize for assaulting Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs the previous day
- Gianforte yelled 'get the hell outta here!' as he slammed Jacobs to the ground
- The tape emerged on Wednesday and he was charged with misdemeanor assault
- Donald Trump trolled reporters following him around in Italy on Friday
- 'Great win in Montana,' he told them – although no one had asked him about it
Donald Trump took a moment away from diplomacy on Friday to do what he does best: troll the media about an election result.
'Great win in Montana,' he told a group of pool reporters as he strolled past them in the Sicilian town of Taormina, where this weekend's G7 summit is underway.
No one had asked the president about Thursday night's controversial election that saw Greg Gianforte win a seat in Congress despite physically assaulting a reporter 24 hours before.
Gianforte used his victory speech to apologize to the American journalist, The Guardian's famously mild-mannered Ben Jacobs, for body-slamming him to the ground and breaking his eyeglasses.
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President Donald Trump (left) trolled reporters following him around in Italy with a quick snark – 'Great win in Montana' – a reference to a congressional election victory by Greg Gianforte (right), a Republican who assaulted a reporter the night before polls opened
Gianforte was charged with assault after 'body-slamming' Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs. The incident quickly gained traction when Jacobs tweeted about it only a few moments later
Trump is in the Sicilian town of Taormina attending a G7 summit with heads of state from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, the European Commission and the European Council
'Last night, I made a mistake and I took an action that I can't take back and I'm not proud of what happened,' Gianforte told supporters at his campaign headquarters in Bozeman, Montana.
When you make a mistake, you have to own up to it,' he said.
Jacobs had sought out Gianforte to interview him about health care policy and held his smartphone near the Republican candidate's face to record his responses.
That's when Gianforte snapped – with audio rolling. Democrats used the recording, which The Guardian published hours later, as the backdrop for a series of eleventh-hour campaign attack ads, but to no avail.
Jacobs, an American who works for the British 'Guardian' newspaper, was taken to a hospital after the attack and is declining to accept money raised to buy him new glasses
'I should not have responded the way that I did, and for that I am sorry,' Gianforte said Thursday night. 'I should not have treated the reporter that way.'
Thursday's election was a one-off exercise to replace former Rep. Ryan Zinke, who left Congress to become U.S. Secretary of the Interior.
Political wags came to view the contest as a referendum on Trump's leadership, with Democrats desperate to find a straw in the wind that might encourage their base to believe they have a shot at retaking the House from the GOP next year.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Thursday night that Gianforte's behavior was 'outrageous' and called him a 'wannabee Trump' whose default is to 'use language like that, treat people harshly like that – that's his model. Donald Trump's his model.'
Gianforte's supporters laughed Thursday night as he addressed how he flew off the handle, and shouted: 'We forgive you!' as he made his apology.
Gianforte won 50.2 percent of the vote while folk singer Rob Quist took 44.1 per cent
Susan Gianforte offered a wide smile as she celebrated with her husband on Thursday night
In the recording, Gianforte can be heard screaming: 'Get the hell outta here!' after knocking the journalist to the ground.
Jacobs, incredulous, replies: 'You just broke my glasses!'
But in the chaotic hours following the assault, Gianforte's campaign released a statement blaming Jacobs for the entire affair.
'Jacobs was asked to leave,' the statement said about Wednesday night's incident. 'After asking Jacobs to lower the recorder, Jacobs declined. Greg then attempted to grab the phone that was pushed in his face.
'Jacobs grabbed Greg's wrist and spun away from Greg, pushing them both to the ground.'
'It's unfortunate that this aggressive behavior from a liberal journalist created this scene at our campaign volunteer BBQ,' the statement concluded.
During his concession speech, Democratic candidate Rob Quist said: 'I know that Montanans will hold Mr Gianforte accountable'
Officials say more than half of the ballots were cast by mail before Election Day. Montana law does not permit voters to change their minds.
A country sheriff charged Gianforte with misdemeanor assault late Wednesday night. He has until June 7 to appear before a judge. The charge carries a possible six months in jail and a $500 fine.
The sheriff decided not to charge him with a more serious felony based on a lack of serious visible injuries when Jacobs received medical attention.
Gallatin County Attorney Marty Lambert told The Missoulian that he plans to review that decision.
Jacobs told 'Good Morning America' on Thursday that he was taking 'a lot of Advil' as a result of the attack.
A GoFundMe campaign has raised $3,000 so far, officially to 'help Ben Jacobs buy new glasses.'
He is refusing to accept the money, asking the organizer to convert it into a donation to the Society to Protect Journalists instead.
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