Trump can’t duck truth — he didn’t curb crowd hate

President Trump tried to distance himself from racist “send her back” chants his supporters lobbed at Rep. Ilhan Omar — even though video of his rally shows him egging them on.

“I was not happy with it,” Trump told reporters. “I disagree with it.”

“I didn’t say that. They did,” Trump added, referring to his supporters and the chant.

Challenged to explain why he did not stop the chants, Trump claimed “I think I did. I started speaking very quickly.”

In fact, Trump allowed the chants to swell for a full 10 seconds while apparently encouraging the crowd to continue. He never showed any sign of disapproval during the raucous campaign rally in Greenville, N.C.

Trump’s effort to disavow the chant marked an extraordinary shift after days of escalating attacks on Omar (photo) and three other Democratic lawmakers, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Queens).

He apparently blinked in the face of widespread condemnation of the baldfaced racism in the chant that unnerved even Republicans, who unloaded on Vice President Mike Pence at a breakfast meeting.

Still, it’s difficult to believe that many independent analysts will accept his claims that he is not responsible for the explosive chant.

Trump spent a significant chunk of the Wednesday night rally riling up the crowd with denunciations of Omar and the other women.

Right before the chant started, he launched into a lengthy diatribe against Omar, who is a naturalized U.S. citizen who came to America as a refugee from war-torn Somalia.

The chant was a twist on Trump’s “lock her up” that was a staple of his successful 2016 campaign against Hillary Clinton.

Asked why his supporters might have started the chant, Trump told reporters to go to North Carolina and “ask the people why they chanted.”

Despite Trump’s disavowal, Omar blamed him for the chant — and vowed to keep on speaking out.