position. in one way, i have to negotiate. in the other way, i love mr. and mrs. warmbier. i love otto. it s a very, very delicate balance. he was a special young man. to see what happened was so bad. was so bad. brian todd with the emotional fallout. reporter: analysts called it a low point in an already dismal news conference. he tells me that he didn t know about. and i will take him at his word. reporter: the president saying he supported kim jong-un s stance that kim didn t know of american college student otto warmbier s deteriorating condition in a north korean prison. i don t believe that he would have allowed that to happen. reporter: now that statement is receiving a stipginging rebu from warmbier s parents. saying they have not spoken out of respect but could hold back
is receiving a warm rebuke from his parents. fred and cindy warmbier said they could hold back no longer, saying kim and his evel regime are responsible for the death of our son otto. no excuses or lavish praise can change that. for them, this is a horrible six to go through. i can understand their concern about what was said. reporter: otto warmbier, a student at the university of virginia was arrested for allegedly stealing a political sign during his tour of pang yang in 2016, it was widely seen as a show trial. he went. i am a incident scapegoat. reporter: he was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor. a year later, diplomats asked for a meeting and told them the young american was in a coma. warmbier was quickly evacuated and died a couple days after returning home. trump initially attacked kim and
issued the same report to the public. they want to protect all that underlying information. that s why the regulations are so narrowly crafted. nunes is playing right into the hands of the democratic oversight committees. i can t imagine trump lawyers are happy with that statement. there s more questions i have for you always. i find this conversation fascinating. i look forward to talking to you again another day. out of time for now. thanks so much. thank you. the president today again attempting to calm the fallout over his comments accepting the north korean president s or leader s denial of wrongdoing in the death of otto warmbier. this comes after the warmbier family s stupinnning rebuke to president after he took the word of yet another dictator. a place miles from the beaten path. overcoming twists and turns. ups and downs. whatever life throws.
the warmbier s lashed out at the president for giving the north korean leader a pass for their son s death saying kim and his evil regime are responsible for the death of our son otto. kim and his evil regime are responsible for unimaginable cruel at this and inhumanity. no excuses or lavish praise can change that. we have more now from brian todd. reporter: analysts call it a low point. he tells me he didn t know about it and i will take him at his word. reporter: the president saying he supported north korean dictator kim jong-un s stance that kim didn t know of american college student otto warmbier s deteriorating condition in a prison. i don t believe that he would have allowed that to happen. reporter: otto warmbier was arrested for allegedly stealing a political sign in early 2016.
his regime for the death. we need only look at the depraved character of the north korean regime. he embraced warmbier s parents, inviting them to the state of the union address. you are powerful witnesses to a menace that threatens our world and your strength truly inspires us all. reporter: analysts said that seemed to be a far cry from his friends e comments th his comments this week. the president took to twitter saying he had been misinterpreted on thursday. quote, of course i hold north korea responsible for otto s mistreatment and death. most important, otto warmbier will not have died in vain. i love otto and think of him often . the president is saying there with is no indication the president knew when it happened. reporter: that s impossible, after his death, doctors believed he had been in a vegetative state 14 months before being sent home.