Is Donald Trump Actually Unaware of When They See Us?

When Donald Trump was asked Tuesday whether he would apologize to the so-called "Central Park Five" for calling for their execution thirty years ago, he seemed puzzled. "Why do you bring that question up now? It’s an interesting time to bring it up," responded Trump.

The reason why now, of course, is Ava DuVernay's critically acclaimed (and very popular) Netflix mini-series, When They See Us. The four part series has sparked renewed outrage over Trump's role in the case of five teens accused of brutally attacking a jogger in Central Park in 1989. Despite a lack of evidence tying them to the crime, all five were ultimately tried and convicted based on videotaped confessions that they claimed were coerced by the NYPD. It was only after the true assailant confessed to the crime in 2002 (and was a DNA match) that the five young men had their judgments reversed, with New York City ultimately awarding them a combined $40 million in restitution.

Trump's role in all of this dates back to 1989, when he took out a full-page ad in four New York City newspapers calling for the suspects to be executed, contributing to a startling rush to judgment on the part of authorities and the media. Although there's no evidence that the five men were in any way tied to the crime, Trump has refused to acknowledge their innocence and/or admit that he was wrong to call for their death. Instead, in typical Trump fashion, he's doubled down.

On Tuesday, he reiterated what he said when asked about the case in 2016. "You have people on both sides of that" he said. "They admitted their guilt. If you look at Linda Fairstein and if you look at some of the prosecutors, they think the city should have never settled that case. So, we’ll leave it at that."

The doubling down part isn't surprising; what is surprising was his initial "Why now?" response. Is he really unaware of the phenomenon that is When They See Us, and the national conversation that it has sparked? For an all-media consuming President (especially when said media has to do with him), that's hard to believe. 

So why pretend not to know about it? My wife has a theory. Feigning ignorance about the miniseries (and the finer details contained therein) allows Trump to continue to take the position he's always taken with regard to the case: "They confessed, case closed." (Nevermind that their confessions were riddled with inconsistencies in the first place, and that it has been a matter of public record for seventeen years that they were deemed false by the investigators who overturned their convictions.) 

So, yes, not acknowledging that he knows about the series allows him to continue to not apologize for his behavior. Not that facts or good taste have ever stood in the way of his not apologizing for past statements, however wrong they may have been. 

Another theory is that he's chosen not to acknowledge the miniseries because he doesn't want to give it the benefit of any additional attention. For a President who can't seem to restrain himself from tweeting about Saturday Night Live on a weekly basis, this I find hard to believe.   

So, which is it? Is he actually puzzled why a reporter would ask about the Central Park Jogger case today, or is he savvier than I give him credit for? Perhaps time will tell. 

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Jed Rosenzweig is the Founder and Publisher of Primetimer.