Trump suggested shooting migrants in the legs: NYT

President Trump suggested having migrants shot in their legs during a March meeting with White House advisers in the Oval Office, The New York Times reported Tuesday. 

The Times report is based on interviews with more than a dozen White House administration officials involved in the events the week of the meeting. The article is adapted from a forthcoming book by reporters Michael Shear and Julie Hirschfeld Davis titled “Border Wars: Inside Trump’s Assault on Immigration.” It will be published Oct. 8. 

The aides told the Times that Trump suggested to advisers during the Oval Office meeting that they should shoot migrants in the legs to slow them down.{mosads}

That suggestion came after Trump had publicly suggested shooting migrants if they threw rocks during a speech in November, the Times reported. 

Officials who spoke to the Times also recalled that Trump often suggested fortifying the border wall with a water-filled trench stocked with snakes or alligators. 

Trump also “wanted the wall electrified, with spikes on top that could pierce human flesh,” the Times reported. 

When advisers told Trump some of his suggestions were illegal, he reportedly became frustrated. 

“You are making me look like an idiot!” Trump shouted, according to the Times, citing multiple officials in the room. “I ran on this. It’s my issue.”

The meeting was set for 30 minutes, but the Times reported that it lasted more than an hour. Officials in the room included then-Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, acting Customs and Border Protection chief Kevin McAleenan, acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, and White House adviser Stephen Miller, according to the Times. 

A White House spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.