(CNN) President Donald Trump on Thursday lambasted the handling of "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett's case as "an absolute embarrassment to our country" and reiterated that he has asked federal authorities to review the case.

"I think the case in Chicago is an absolute embarrassment to our country and I have asked that it be -- that they look at it," Trump told reporters on the White House lawn as he left for a political rally. "Somebody has to at least take a very good hard look."

Trump's comments on Smollett's case come as his 2020 re-election campaign is shifting into high gear and he seeks to highlight issues that animate his base.

While campaigning during the 2018 midterm elections, Trump sparked a national debate when he slammed NFL players as unpatriotic for kneeling during the National Anthem as a protest against racial inequality in the US justice system.

Trump announced earlier Thursday that the Justice Department would review Smollett's case after conservatives decried a prosecutor's decision Tuesday to unexpectedly drop all charges against the actor , who was accused of staging a hate crime against himself in Chicago.

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