US ambassador claims his own words are fake news. Denies he ever said fake news seconds later
The US Ambassador for the Netherlands was left red-faced on television after he was confronted for saying that there were "no-go zones" in the country.
Pete Hoekstra, a member of the Republican Party and was born in Groningen in the Netherlands, became the ambassador for the European nation earlier this year.
The 64-year-old was sworn into office by Vice President Mike Pence on 11 December.
He is only a few weeks into his new job but is already facing scrutiny in the role.
Back in 2015, Hoekstra had stated on film that several areas of the Netherlands were now so dominated by 'Islamic radicals' that cars and politicians were being set on fire.
His bold claim has not been forgotten in Dutch media.
During an interview with their new US ambassador reporter Wouter Zwart from the current affairs programme Nieuwsuur, asked him about the statement.
Zwart asks him:
You mentioned in a debate that there are no-go zones in the Netherlands and that cars and politicians are being set on fire in the Netherlands.
In response, not only does Hoekstra deny that he ever said that, he also brands the statement as "fake news".
I didn’t say that. This is actually an incorrect statement. We would call it fake news.
Zwart then counters Hoekstra's comeback by showing him the exact clip where he talks about the no-go zones.
Embarrassed, Hoekstra then tries to backtrack by saying that he never used the term "fake news."
I didn’t call that fake news. I didn’t use the words today. I don’t think I did.
Here is footage of the exchange shared on Twitter by Christiaan Triebart.
The clip has been widely shared on social media since it was made public.