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A 2004 article about Donald Trump in Esquire | Esquire Esquire editor: Donald Trump 'completely misrepresenting what he said' in 2004 article

Esquire magazine has updated a story about Donald Trump from 2004 in an effort to set the record straight about what the Republican presidential nominee said to the magazine about the Iraq War more than a decade ago.

Esquire editor in chief Jay Fielden told POLITICO that Trump was "completely misrepresenting what he said and what we reported" at the time.

“Editor’s note: The following story was published in the August 2004 issue of Esquire,” an editor’s note at the top of the piece, reads. “During the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed to have been against the Iraq War from the beginning, and he has cited this story as proof. The Iraq War began in March 2003, more than a year before this story ran, thus nullifying Trump's timeline.”

Since announcing his bid for the presidency, Trump has repeatedly said that he opposed the Iraq War from day one, and has pointed to his interview with Esquire as evidence that he always opposed it. (In fact, Trump voiced his support for invading Iraq in a 2002 interview.)

In the 2004 Esquire piece, published more than a year after the Iraq War began, Trump says that the Iraq War is a “mess.” Trump does not say in the piece that he opposed the war.

“Look at the war in Iraq and the mess that we’re in,” he said in the piece. “I would never have handled it that way … What was the purpose of this whole thing? Hundreds and hundreds of young people killed. And what about the people coming back with no arms and legs? Not to mention the other side. All those Iraqi kids who've been blown to pieces. And it turns out that all of the reasons for the war were blatantly wrong. All this for nothing!”

Esquire in August ran an article fact-checking Trump’s claims and linking to the article, which has been available on the site for years. But Fielden told POLITICO he and Esquire’s editorial staff decided to bring more attention to the piece Thursday out of frustration that the Republican nominee again told NBC’s Matt Lauer that he had opposed the Iraq War, pointing to the Esquire article as evidence.

“This is Pinocchio-land,” Fielden said. “And It’s just not right. He’s saying that our magazine is saying something that he didn’t, and that he himself said something that he didn’t. Who does he expect to go along with it? Matt Lauer certainly may, but not us.”

“He is completely misrepresenting what he said and what we reported and we had to just get on the bullhorn and make sure the world knows this isn't the truth,” Fielden continued.

Fielden told POLITICO he hopes the new attention to the piece will have an effect on the public’s perception of Trump.

“Why would any rational person point to evidence that incriminates them instead of exonerates them? I think in terms of assessing someone’s judgment and mental health, that would be a red flag to me. I don’t care whether they’re Republican or Democrat. That kind of behavior, I think, is just alarming.”

