Sen. Tom Cotton says reports he called slavery a ‘necessary evil’ are ‘the definition of fake news’ — here’s his original quote

After many people on Twitter vilified Tom Cotton for reportedly calling slavery a “necessary evil” in a recent interview, the Republican senator clarified his remarks in a social media post of his own.

“This is the definition of fake news,” the Arkansas Republican wrote in a Twitter TWTR, -3.25% post on Sunday. “I said that *the Founders viewed slavery as a necessary evil* and described how they put the evil institution on the path to extinction, a point frequently made by Lincoln.”

Cotton was referring to an interview he gave to the Arkansas Democratic-Gazette, in which he criticized the New York Times’ proposed school curriculum under its 1619 Project that would highlight American slavery, rather than American independence, in U.S. history lessons.