Trump begins in Long Island: “We’re here today to discuss the menace of MS-13. It’s a menace...blood-stained killing fields...horrible people..."
Trump on "alien minors" crossing the border: "They look so innocent. They’re not innocent.”
Trump is reciting a vivid list of MS-13 crimes: "...totally disfiguring a beautiful young woman...drugging and raping a 14-year-old girl..."
Trump mocks people who responded to his "animals" comment by saying MS-13 members are "people": "They're not people. These are animals."
Trump with an egregious false claim on MS-13: "They killed a cop for the sake of making a statement. They wanted to make a statement, so they killed a cop. A policeman." Local police say MS-13 threatened to kill a cop, but it has not happened.
"We want these savages incapacitated before they can try to cross over our borders," Acting Assistant Attorney General John Cronan says of efforts to combat MS-13 abroad.
ICE Deputy Director Thomas Homan defends Trump's "animals" comment: "I think you're being kind. Animals kill for survival. MS-13 kills for sport."
Rod Rosenstein on "alien children": "We're letting people in who are creating problems. We're letting people in who are gang members. We're also letting people in who are vulnerable. Many of these alien children who have no parents, no family structure...develop gang ties."
Trump claims he's "working on a plan to deduct a lot of the aid" from countries that allow...MS-13? Unauthorized immigrants? I dunno...to enter the U.S.: "Every time somebody comes in from a certain country we're going to deduct a rather large amount of money."
Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin endorses Trump's "animals" comment. He vaguely criticizes Pelosi for her eight-hour speech in support of DREAMers, saying she was supporting something that has "torn apart the hearts" of Americans.
A fact mentioned in passing 45 minutes into this event: "There has not been an MS-13 murder in Suffolk County since April of 2017."
Useful stat:
Also a useful stat:
Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder tells Trump that there are 250 active members of MS-13 in the county. (As @kathrynw5 notes, the county has a population of 1.4 million.)
The families of people murdered by MS-13 are effusively thanking Trump for his concern about the issue.
Trump does a rapid-fire double lie on southwest border apprehensions:
1) Says it used to be down 77% (never was; topped out at about 50%)
2) Says it's now down 40% (it's UP 77% from last year)
1) Says it used to be down 77% (never was; topped out at about 50%)
2) Says it's now down 40% (it's UP 77% from last year)
Trump on ICE arrests: "They throw 'em into...they throw these guys into these wagons, these rolling jails, and you have people applauding. It's almost like a war where you're getting rid of somebody who's occupying your nation."
Trump concludes by saying he knows the heart of America "maybe better than anybody." He tells ICE that people love them, no matter what you read.
Checking the transcript - this Trump remark was about law enforcement broadly, not only ICE, which he'd been talking about just prior.
