This time, Donald Trump may be the victim. So may be a Serbian magazine that was obscure to U.S. audiences until Thursday, when it published a fake interview with the GOP presidential nominee.
The alleged interview, in which Donald Trump supposedly apologized for America’s bombing of Serbia in 1999, was likely a hoax that someone played on the publication.
The Serbian magazine Nedeljnik initially claimed that Trump told it, “It was a great mistake to bomb the Serbians who were our allies in both world wars. Serbians are very good people. Unfortunately Clinton’s administration was very damaging to the Serbians, they made a mess in the Balkans. I have apologized before to the Serbians for the actions and our policy primarily Clinton’s. I will strengthen the relationship with the Serbian government. When I take office the foreign policy will change the course for the better.”
Nedeljnik was the victim of a hoax by a Serbian-born actor and producer named Vladimir Rajčić, who claimed that he was close to Trump’s vice presidential running mate, Mike Pence, according to Politico. Rajčić later emailed the magazine answers to questions that appeared to have been signed by Suzanne Jaworowski, a high-ranking Trump aide in Indiana.
“There was no Trump interview on Serbia,” Jaworowski told Politico. “I don’t know where that came from. I never facilitated any kind of interview with a Serbian reporter.”
Nedeljnik is now internally investigating its story to determine whether a real exchange with the Trump campaign happened.
The U.S. bombed Serbia in 1999 to end the state’s genocide against Kosovar Albanians.
By Matthew Rozsa
Matthew Rozsa is a professional writer whose work has appeared in multiple national media outlets since 2012 and exclusively at Salon since 2016. He received a Master's Degree in History from Rutgers-Newark in 2012, was a guest on Fox Business in 2019, repeatedly warned of Trump's impending refusal to concede during the 2020 election, spoke at the Commonwealth Club of California in 2021, was awarded a science journalism fellowship from the Metcalf Institute in 2022 and appeared on NPR in 2023. His diverse interests are reflected in his interviews including: President Jimmy Carter (1977-1981), Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak (1999-2001), animal scientist and autism activist Temple Grandin, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (1997-2001), director Jason Reitman ("The Front Runner"), inventor Ernő Rubik, comedian Bill Burr ("F Is for Family"), novelist James Patterson ("The President's Daughter"), epidemiologist Monica Gandhi, theoretical cosmologist Janna Levin, voice actor Rob Paulsen ("Animaniacs"), mRNA vaccine pioneer Katalin Karikó, philosopher of science Vinciane Despret, actor George Takei ("Star Trek"), climatologist Michael E. Mann, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (2013-present), dog cognition researcher Alexandra Horowitz, Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson (2012, 2016), comedian and writer Larry Charles ("Seinfeld"), seismologist John Vidale, Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Lieberman (2000), Ambassador Michael McFaul (2012-2014), economist Richard Wolff, director Kevin Greutert ("Saw VI"), model Liskula Cohen, actor Rodger Bumpass ("SpongeBob Squarepants"), Senator John Hickenlooper (2021-present), Senator Martin Heinrich (2013-present), Egyptologist Richard Parkinson, Rep. Eric Swalwell (2013-present), Fox News host Tucker Carlson, actor R. J. Mitte ("Breaking Bad"), theoretical physicist Avi Loeb, biologist and genomics entrepreneur William Haseltine, comedian David Cross ("Scary Movie 2"), linguistics consultant Paul Frommer ("Avatar"), Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (2007-2015), computer engineer and Internet co-inventor Leonard Kleinrock and right-wing insurrectionist Roger Stone.
Shares