During a sit-down interview marking his 100th day in office, President Donald Trump addressed the controversy surrounding Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported to El Salvador. While acknowledging he could facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return, Trump made it clear he doesn’t believe the man deserves the sympathetic media treatment he’s received. “The person that you’re talking about, you know, you’re making this person sound — this is an MS-13 gang member, a tough cookie, been in lots of skirmishes, beat the hell out of his wife, and the wife was petrified to even talk about him, OK?” Trump told ABC News’ Terry Moran. “This is not an innocent, wonderful gentleman from Maryland.”
The exchange followed a question from Moran about how Trump plans to comply with a Supreme Court ruling that requires the administration to help return the Salvadoran national, whose deportation an administration attorney had admitted was a mistake. Trump pushed back, challenging the legitimacy of the statement made in court. “Well, the lawyer that said it was a mistake was here a long time, was not appointed by us, should not have said that,” he said.
Trump emphasized that in his view, Abrego Garcia is connected to the violent MS-13 gang, something lawyers representing him deny. “He is not an innocent, wonderful gentleman from Maryland,” the president said again for emphasis.
Moran countered by reminding Trump that this is ultimately about adherence to the law. “I’m not saying he’s a good guy,” Moran said. “It’s about the rule of law. The order from the Supreme Court stands, sir.”
Trump shot back, reiterating that Abrego Garcia entered the country unlawfully. “He came into our country illegally,” he said.
When Moran pointed toward the phone on the Resolute Desk and said, “You could get him back. There’s a phone on this desk,” Trump replied, “I could. And if he were the gentleman that you say he is, I would do that. I’m not the one making this decision… You want me to follow the law. If I were the president that just wanted to do anything, I’d probably keep him right where he is.”
As the conversation grew tense, Trump turned the focus to his broader immigration policy, contrasting it with the previous administration. “Listen. I was elected to take care of a problem,” Trump said. “It was an unforced error that was made by a very incompetent man, a man that turned out to be incompetent, that you always said was wonderful, a great genius, right? And now you find out, all of the media, now they’re saying what a mistake they made. A man who was grossly incompetent allowed us to have open borders where millions of people flowed in.”
Trump reiterated his campaign commitment to closing the borders and removing violent criminals. “When we have criminals, murderers, criminals in this country, we have to get them out and we’re doing it,” he declared.
At one point, the president defended evidence that Abrego Garcia was a gang member by referencing photos he had shown depicting tattoos. “On his knuckles, he had MS-13,” Trump insisted.
Moran noted that the authenticity of the photographs has been challenged, with some accusing the administration of doctoring the images. Trump, clearly irritated, turned the criticism toward the media. “They’re giving you the big break of a lifetime,” he told Moran. “You know, you’re doing the interview. I picked you because, frankly, I never heard of you, but that’s OK. But I picked you, Terry, but you’re not being very nice… he had MS as clear as you can be. Not ‘interpreted.’ This is why people no longer believe the news, because it’s fake news.”
{Matzav.com}