Democrats and their allies in the media have been willfully distorting comments President Trump made during a Wednesday White House meeting on California’s “sanctuary” laws. However, their dishonest attempt to paint the president in a negative light will backfire.
Trump made the comments in reference to the brutal gang MS-13. The media and Democrats have pretended that was referring to all immigrants. Said Trump: “We have people coming into the country or trying to come in, we’re stopping a lot of them, but we’re taking people out of the country. You wouldn’t believe how bad these people are. These aren’t people. These are animals.”
The president’s comments came during a roundtable discussion with California law enforcement officials immediately after Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims had finished telling him about the difficulty of going after illegal immigrant gang members. “There can be an MS-13 gang member I know about. If they don’t reach a certain threshold, I can’t tell ICE about it,” she said.
Here is the full clip of Trump's "animals" comments.
The CA Sheriff was lamenting not being able to report violent MS-13 gang members in her jail. Trump then called those gang members "animals."
If you are an honest person who cares about facts, you must see this #FactsMatter pic.twitter.com/fqLNREcRv1— Benny (@bennyjohnson) May 17, 2018
Given the context in which he made the remarks, it is patently obvious Trump was referring to the notoriously vicious and brutal gang.
Naturally, Democrats like Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) jumped at the chance to mischaracterize the president’s remarks:
Murderers, rapists, and animals. This is how the President views undocumented immigrants. These degrading words are also how despots around the world dehumanize those they persecute.
The only protection? A vigilant citizenry and the rule of law. https://t.co/hSATf0OxCV
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) May 17, 2018
It’s not at all surprising that Democrats would try to spin the comments as an attack on all immigrants, yet the media’s attempts to do so have been so transparently, embarrassingly dishonest, that they have instantly discredited themselves.
Here’s just a sample of the headlines assailing the president over his remarks:
USA Today: Trump ramps up rhetoric on undocumented immigrants: ‘These aren’t people. These are animals.’
Los Angeles Times: Meeting with California ‘sanctuary’ foes, Trump calls for probe of Oakland mayor, blasts criminal immigrants as ‘animals’
The Atlantic: Trump’s ‘Animals’ Remark Explains Why He’s Losing the Immigration Debate
Some media outlets tried to be a little more judicious with their titles by throwing in the word “some”:
NYT: Trump Calls Some Unauthorized Immigrants ‘Animals’ in Rant
CBS: Trump calls some criminal illegal immigrants “animals,” suggests Oakland mayor obstructed justice
No, you hacks — he was calling brutal gang members who slash children to death with machetes “animals.” Everyone with an IQ above room temperature understands this.
In terms of sheer hyperbole and faux outrage, Esquire’s title and subhead take the cake:
Trump Calls Illegal Immigrants ‘Animals’ in Authoritarian Immigration Meeting
Trump strikes a Hitlerian note about immigrants.
This is why people hate and distrust the media. If you’re taking the side of a group whose motto is “kill, rape, control,” you might have a problem.
“What distinguishes them from other gangs is that they are violent for violence sake,” said a law enforcement official in Long Island, where MS-13 has taken root.
As PJ Media reported in May of 2017, the town of Brentwood, NY has been particularly terrorized by the vicious gang:
Their weapons of choice are machetes and baseball bats. Their hallmarks: repeated slashes from a blade that leave victims nearly unrecognizable.
There were eleven murders of mostly young people during the 2016-2017 school year. It got so bad that parents were afraid to let their kids go to school, and teens said that “any perceived slight to a gang member, especially a refusal to join, can mean death.”
One of the reasons Trump was elected is because he was perceived to have compassion for everyday, law-abiding Americans — aka the “forgotten people” — rather than for lawbreakers and murderers.
Do Democrats really want to run on this?
however repugnant their actions, MS-13 gang members are human beings IMHO
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) May 17, 2018
"Gang members are people too" was not the platform I expected from Dempcrats in 2018.
— Ben Domenech (@bdomenech) May 17, 2018
And if calling MS-13 "animals" is wrong, then @realdonaldtrump doesn't want to be right. The fact is they are totally animals and a threat that must be defeated. #DontCometoAmerica
— Lee Zeldin (@RepLeeZeldin) May 17, 2018
Next time we on the right tell you that the left hates you and wants you dead, and the left tells you we’re nuts, just remember that in the span of three days they’ve aggressively defended #Hamas and MS-13.
— John Cardillo (@johncardillo) May 17, 2018
The Left’s unhinged hatred for Trump is forcing them to defend MS-13 today. You read that right.
— Matt Mackowiak (@MattMackowiak) May 17, 2018
How to lose 2018 election:
Create false investigation into Russian collusion in Trump campaign
Promise a porn star was paid by campaign funds
Swear Hamas attacks on Israelis were peaceful protests
Declare MS13 aren't animals despite brutal carnage
Promise to raise taxes
— Jessie Jane Duff – Text TRUMP to 88022 (@JessieJaneDuff) May 17, 2018
While the president has no compunction about denouncing violent criminals, the unfailing instinct of his his political enemies is to defend everything that is despicable to ordinary Americans — including the vicious brutes of MS-13. That is not going to bode well for them in the midterms.
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