The Montana congressman Greg Gianforte, who pleaded guilty to the assault of a Guardian reporter, has said Donald Trump’s tweet of himself body-slamming a CNN proxy was only a “distraction” from “good work” being done by the president.

Trump accused of encouraging attacks on journalists with CNN body-slam tweet Read more

Trump’s tweet, which showed the president wrestling a man with a CNN logo superimposed on his head, was widely criticized for encouraging violence against reporters.

On the eve of Gianforte’s election in May, the congressman responded to a question from the Guardian’s Ben Jacobs by throwing him to the ground and punching him.

During a brief interview on Wednesday, the Montana Public Radio (MPR) reporter Eric Whitney asked Gianforte about Trump’s tweet three times. Each time the congressman responded by saying the tweet was a “distraction”.

“Would I have sent this tweet? I’m not sure,” Gianforte said. “But the reality is, the administration is doing good work. I would probably categorize this particular tweet as a distraction.”

Whitney then suggested that “some people interpreted the tweet as promoting violence against reporters” and asked: “Did you interpret it that way?”

Gianforte said: “I would just say, I think the focus ought to be on the business of the people. And I would characterize – because we’re even talking about this, and not talking about some of the meatier issues and what the American people and Montanans want us to talk about, I would characterize it as a distraction.”

At the end of the interview, asked about his response to the Trump tweet when he first heard about it, he said: “I believe the tweet is a distraction from these major issues that we need to work on, things like tax reform and affordable healthcare.”

Four days after he was convicted in the assault of a reporter, Gianforte called for more civility in politics. In the MPR interview, he said: “That comment was made in context of the shooting that occurred in Washington DC, and for an armed gunman to plot to go and shoot members of Congress, I don’t think is civil. That was the context of that comment.”

The shooting to which Gianforte referred happened at a Republican baseball practice in Virginia last month. The House majority whip, Steve Scalise, and four others were injured.

After his attack on Jacobs, Gianforte was fined $385 and sentenced to community service and 20 hours of sessions for anger management. He also agreed to pay $50,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists.