Trump attacks coverage of controversial Lincoln Memorial confrontation

Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images, FILEPresident Donald Trump makes a statement in the diplomatic reception room of the White House, Jan. 19, 2019.

(MORE: Viral video of Catholic school teens in ‘MAGA’ caps taunting Native Americans draws widespread condemnation; prompts a school investigation)

Conservative news outlets have latched onto the story as evidence of media bias, after videos over the weekend showed students from the all-male Covington Catholic High School in Park Hills, Kentucky — with several wearing red ‘Make America Great Again’ caps — chanting and appearing to taunt a small group of Native American protesters at an Indigenous Peoples March.

The president specifically defended junior Nick Sandmann, who in one video was shown staring down protester Nathan Phillips as he chanted and banged on a ceremonial drum. Videos later surfaced that showed Phillips and the protesters walking toward the students before they were encircled, and Sandmann in a statement disputed that he ever sought confrontation with the group.

“I believed that by remaining motionless and calm, I was helping to diffuse the situation,” Phillips said, adding that he and his family have received death threats since the initial video went viral.

Trump on Monday evening tweeted about the incident, tagging Fox News host Tucker Carlson, saying the students including Sandmann were “treated unfairly with early judgements proving out to be false – smeared by media.”

Trump in the past has drawn condemnation from the Native American community for his rhetoric. He regularly refers to Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren as “Pocahontas” and earlier this month tweeted that a video Warren made would have been “a smash” if she did it from Bighorn or Wounded Knee with her husband dressed in “full Indian garb.”

Republican Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota invited the president to visit tribal communities, tweeting, “the Wounded Knee Massacre was one of the darkest moments in our history. It should never be used as a punchline.”

Sourse: abcnews.go.com