That is not what he said, and again the misuse of quotations to make it seem like that's literally what he said is definitely not helping the situation.
Obviously I'm aware that he didn't write it, and that it doesn't necessarily reflect his personal views. I was being lazy, but it's also true that when most people read those words they picture them coming out of his mouth.
There is another sentence after the one you quote which takes the edge off it. Dropping that part could be construed as willfully taking his words out of context to makes them sound worse. IMHO taken as a whole I think it says more about his lack of understanding than him endorsing anything. But as you say, that's not blatant lying.
You don't seem to be distinguishing between the things he might be saying as part of his true views and the things he might be saying to achieve some type of goal, so I don't think your interpretation of his behaviour is accurate.
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