TRUMP AIDE SORRY FOR ‘SPECIAL PLACE IN HELL’ REMARK ABOUT TRUDEAU

Washington — In a rare apology by a Trump administration official, top White House trade adviser Peter Navarro on Tuesday walked back his inflammatory statement that there was a “special place in hell” reserved for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Navarro offered the apology at a conference sponsored by The Wall Street Journal, saying that “my job was to send a signal of strength” after an economic summit in Quebec marked by tensions over Trump’s recently imposed steel tariffs on Canada and other allies. “The problem was that in conveying that message, I used language that was inappropriate,” he said. Asked whether he was apologizing, Navarro replied, “Yes, absolutely.” Navarro’s apology was unusual in that President Donald Trump and his aides have seldom walked back harsh and even incorrect statements.