Lott says he fell into 'trap' set by his political enemies

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- Sen. Trent Lott, in his first public remarks since resigning as Senate Republican leader, said Sunday that he had fallen into a "trap" set by his political enemies and had "only myself to blame."

Lott became the focus of a raging controversy for his remarks 2 1/2 weeks ago praising Sen. Strom Thurmond's 1948 segregationist run for president.

Asked in an interview Sunday with The Associated Press whether he was disappointed in a lack of support from President Bush in keeping his post, Lott said: "I don't think there's any use in trying to say I'm disappointed in anybody or anything. An inappropriate remark brought this down on my head."

However, he said there were those who had been gunning for his resignation.

'I fell into their trap'

"There are some people in Washington who have been trying to nail me for a long time," Lott said. "When you're from Mississippi and you're a conservative and you're a Christian, there are a lot of people that don't like that. I fell into their trap and so I have only myself to blame."

He wouldn't say who those political enemies were.

Talking outside his home, Lott again said his comments at Thurmond's 100th birthday party were not malicious and he repeated his pledge to turn the experience into positive action as he finishes his term in the Senate.

"I feel very strongly about my faith. God has put this burden on me, I believe he'll show me a way to turn it into a good," Lott said.

He also said he regretted the comments reflecting poorly on his home state.

At Thurmond's party Dec. 5, Lott had said that Mississippians were proud to have voted for Thurmond in 1948. "And if the rest of the country had followed our lead," he said, "we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years, either."

Tried to deflect criticism

At first, Lott tried to deflect criticism, saying his speech was only meant as lighthearted praise of the retiring Thurmond. He later apologized, saying "a poor choice of words conveyed to some the impression that I embraced the discarded policies of the past. Nothing could be further from the truth."

Lott resigned his leadership post on Friday after Bush publicly called the remarks offensive and wrong, and senators in his own party scheduled a Jan. 6 meeting to decide if Lott should continue as their leader after six years in the role.

The man expected to replace him is Sen. Bill Frist, a wealthy heart surgeon from Tennessee, who is seen by many Republicans as cautious but ambitious and considering a possible 2008 run for the White House.

Lott said Sunday that he would continue to represent Mississippi in the Senate.

"I have a job to do," he said, "and I believe that my experience (and) my knowledge of having been in a leadership role will allow me in the future to do some more good things for our state."

Later Sunday, a police bomb squad was called to Lott's home in a false alarm after a passer-by left a box on his mailbox. On the box, in black marker, were the words: "We always knew you were a hypocrite, Trent. Thanks for setting Mississippi back another 50 years."

Police found no explosives.

The woman who left the box, Mary Davis, grew up in Pascagoula and now teaches elementary school in Maryland. She was in town for the holidays, but said that even in Lott's home town, where has had a lot of support, there were many who felt the same way she does.

"There are people agree with me, they just don't come out," Davis said. "They want to be polite. But I felt like I should say something."