White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said Thursday that President Trump is owed an apology from those who criticized him for calling undocumented immigrants “animals,” noting that he was specifically referring to gang members.
Trump hosted a roundtable discussion with California officials on Wednesday, decrying the country’s immigration laws and condemning some gang members who are in the country illegally.
{mosads}“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,” Trump said to the California officials who oppose the state’s “sanctuary city” laws.
“These aren’t people. These are animals, and we’re taking them out of the country at a rate that’s never happened before,” Trump added.
Trump was responding to Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims, who expressed frustration over how the state’s sanctuary city laws have limited the ability of local law enforcement officials to enforce federal immigration laws, specifically in regards to the MS-13 gang.
Conway retweeted CNN anchor Jake Tapper’s tweet outlining the context of the comment during the roundtable.