PITTSBURGH, April 14 (UPI) — Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump confused a Pennsylvania crowd with a cryptic remark about the late Penn State coach Joe Paterno.
“I know a lot about Pennsylvania, and it’s great,” Trump said Wednesday to a cheering crowd during a rally in Pittsburgh. “How’s Joe Paterno? Are we gonna bring that back? Right? How about that whole deal?”
Confusion followed the comment. Some believed Trump was unaware Paterno was dead.
Trump’s campaign clarified later that he was referring to a statue of the Penn State legend, which was removed from campus in 2012 after a child sexual abuse scandal involving one of his former assistants, Jerry Sandusky. Many believed Paterno helped cover up Sandusky’s sexual abuses, but others believe Paterno was unjustly fired from his coaching position and his legacy was maliciously tainted.
Paterno died two months after he was fired from Penn State.
