GOP Congressman Deflects 3 Times As CNN’s Dana Bash Presses Him on Trump’s Plan to Jail US-Born Criminals in El Salvador

A GOP congressman dodged multiple times when confronted about President Donald Trump’s idea to send American-born criminals to prisons in El Salvador.

In an interview on CNN’s State of the Union Sunday, anchor Dana Bash repeatedly pressed Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) to weigh in on Trump’s proposal — which he floated in the Oval Office on Monday during a meeting with El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele.

“The homegrowns are next,” Trump told Bukele. He added, “I don’t know what the laws are —we always have to obey the laws— but we also have homegrown criminals that push people into subways that hit elderly ladies on the back of the head with a baseball bat when they’re not looking, that are absolute monsters. I’d like to include them in the group of people to get them out of the country, but you’ll have to be looking at the laws on that.”

Bash tried to get Emmer to declare his position.

“You’re not only a lawmaker, you are an attorney,” Bash said to Emmer. “Do you think the federal government has any legal authority to do that with American citizens?”

“I think right now what he’s doing is absolutely legal, which is removing those that do not have legal status in this country,” Emmer said. “That have proven to be the worst of the worst. This is what he promised Americans he would do.”

Emmer went on to attack Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) for traveling to El Salvador to meet with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, but Bash pressed the congressman to answer her question.

“What about the idea that the White House says that it is looking into whether or not U.S. Citizens who are convicted of violent crimes can be imprisoned in El Salvador?” Bash asked.

“Again, what they’re focused on — and what you and I are focusing on — is what’s actually happening,” Emmer said. “Which is deporting terrorists, cartel members, rapists, murderers. The worst of the worst is exactly what Donald Trump promised during the campaign. And that’s why 77 million people, Dana, elected him to follow through on this promise, and that’s what they are doing.”

After that deflection, Bash gave it one last shot.

“I just want to give you one more chance to say whether or not you’re okay with U.S. Citizens — the idea of it, I know it’s not happening — but he has actively said more than once that they are looking into it,” Bash said. “Would you be okay with that?”

Once more, the congressman dodged.

“Again, the issue that we’re dealing with is I’ve got a president who wants to protect U.S. Citizens from violence, from crime, having their children solicited, murdered, et cetera, versus Democrats who seem to want to protect illegal aliens in this country for whatever reason,” Emmer said.

Watch above, via CNN.

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