When pressed to explain why he believes migrants trying to enter the U.S. are “hardened criminals.”
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
President Trump brushed off questions from a female reporter on Friday by telling her, “Don’t be a baby.” During a round-table discussion on immigration in Arizona, Trump had repeatedly stated that migrants trying to enter the U.S. are “hardened criminals.” “These are some bad people coming through. These aren’t babies, these aren’t little angels coming into our country,” he said. When New York Times reporter Emily Cochrane asked him to clarify what evidence leads him to believe the migrants are “hardened criminals,” Trump said, “Oh, please. Please. Don’t be a baby. Okay?” He went on to urge Cochrane to “just take a look at what’s happened.” “Look at the Mexican soldiers laying on the ground. These are hardened—I didn’t say all of them...These are tough, tough people, and I don’t want them and neither does our country want them,” Trump was quoted as saying. The president was apparently referencing clashes at Mexico’s border with Guatemala that broke out Friday as a migrant caravan from Honduras tried to get through. Several police officers and migrants were reportedly injured as migrants tried to push through the gates.
Reporter: "What evidence do you have that these are hardened criminals that are coming to the United States?"
President Trump: "Oh, please. Please. Don't be a baby. Okay? Take a look...I didn't say in all cases. But in many cases, these are hardened criminals." pic.twitter.com/rHWySuvR8e
I asked President Trump what evidence he had that “hardened criminals” are trying to enter the country. “Oh please, please, don’t be a baby,” was his response.
