Did Mike Lee Really Say Trump Deserves a ‘Mulligan?’

Utah Republican Senator Mike Lee is facing stiff backlash over a comment he made on Fox News, but did he really say that ex-President Donald Trump deserves a “mulligan” for inciting the Capitol insurrection? We report, you decide.

On Tuesday, a viral clip featured Lee saying “Everyone makes mistakes, everyone’s entitled to a mulligan once in awhile,” sparking fierce backlash online. And if anyone had doubts what Lee meant, The New York Times cleared it up by publishing a news article titled “Mike Lee Suggests Trump Should Get a ‘Mulligan’ for Capitol Riot Day Speech.”

The quote was the subject of derision by news personalities on CNN and MSNBC — like Jake Tapper, Abby Phillip, and Joe Scarborough — who took a similar meaning from Lee’s words.

So what did Lee actually say?

On America’s Newsroom, the hosts played a montage of Democratic leaders urging crowds to confront Republicans and “get in their faces,” and Dana Perino asked Lee to comment on those statements in relation to Trump’s incitement.

“Democrats are saying, of course, that that is different. How do you see it?” Perino asked.

“Yeah, look, it’s not different,” Lee said. “These are outgrowths of the same natural impulse that exists from time to time among anyone in this business, and in many other businesses.”

“Look everyone makes mistakes and everyone’s entitled to a mulligan once in a while,” Lee said, then added, “And I would hope, I would expect that each of those individuals would take a mulligan on each of those statements.”

So Lee clearly said that the statements to which he was referring were “not different” from Trump’s incitement, that all sprang from the same “natural impulse,” and that “everyone” is entitled to a mulligan. Although Lee’s offer of mulligan eligibility was extended to the Democrats as well, Trump is part of “everyone.”

But according to the New York Times, “None of the Democrats’ statements aired by Fox resulted in violence.”

Watch the clip above via Fox News.