‘Genuinely Despicable’: Critics Alarmed at Trump Oval Office Pool Spray Where Wrongly Imprisoned Migrant Was Dubbed a ‘Terrorist’
President Donald Trump’s Oval Office sit-down with El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele sparked a wave of controversy on Monday when both Bukele and various Trump officials claimed Kilmar Abrego Garcia should not be returned to the U.S. The Trump administration, both the DOJ and ICE, had previously acknowledged Garcia was deported and indefinitely imprisoned in El Salvador by mistake, and the Supreme Court ruled last week the U.S. should “facilitate” his return.
“Can President Bukele weigh in on this? Do you plan to return him?” CNN’s Kaitlan Collins asked.
“Well, I suppose you are not suggesting that I smuggle a terrorist into the United States, right? How can I return him to the United States? It’s like if I smuggled him into the U.S., of course I’m not going to do it. It’s, like, I mean, the question is preposterous. How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? I don’t have the power to return him to the United States,” Bukele replied.
“But you could release him inside of El Salvador?” pressed another reporter.
“Yeah, but I’m not releasing, I mean, we’re not very fond of releasing terrorists into our country. We just turned the murder capital of the world into the safest country in the Western Hemisphere, and you want us to go back to releasing criminals so we can go back to being the murder capital of the world. That’s not going to happen,” Bukelel pressed.
Attorney General Pam Bondi also weighed in and repeatedly claimed Garcia, who is married to a U.S. citizen, was a convicted gang member, while Stephen Miller claimed his deportation was not a mistake.
Critics and legal experts were quick to sound the alarm on what they heard in the Oval Office.
Independent journalist Isaac Saul replied, “An absolutely ridiculous representation. Zero evidence Garcia is a “terrorist” — in fact, there’s no evidence he’s ever even committed a crime or been accused of one. All this after Miller just gaslights the entire country about the SCOTUS ruling. Astounding stuff.”
Fox contributor Leslie Marshall replied, “What further bothers me is why didn’t any journalist pushback on him calling a man a #terrorist with no proof? If #journalists don’t do their job we are screwed.”
Former immigration attorney Aaron Reichlin-Melnick added, “What an absolute joke. Everyone here is pretending. Bukele is pretending that he’s incapable of releasing someone his own jail is holding at US expense, and Trump is pretending he can’t just ask Bukele to release the guy. And meanwhile, Mr. Abrego rots in prison.”
Reichlin-Melnick also later commented, “Rubio and Miller are outright lying here. The ONE country that it was illegal to deport Mr. Abrego to was El Salvador, and every government official to go in front of a court has admitted that the deportation was a mistake, including the SOLICITOR GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES.” Garcia had been granted a protective status in the U.S. by a judge, saying the U.S. could not deport him back to El Salvador out of fear for his safety.
Reason’s Billy Binoin also hammered Trump and Miller for misstating the Supreme Court’s ruling, “This is a blatant lie.The Supreme Court agreed 9-0 that the Trump administration broke the law when it deported Abrego Garcia to an El Salvadoran prison & that the US govt must “facilitate [his] release.” The people who complain the most about fake news sure love spreading it.”
Politico’s Kyle Cheney also summarized the back and forth:
To review:
-Trump says he has no power to seek Abrego Garcia’s return. Only Bukele can do that.
-Bukele says he has no power to send Abrego Garcia to United States.
-Bondi says US can send a plane to pick up Abrego Garcia with Bukele’s OK.
-Miller mischaracterizes Supreme Court ruling and says US was correct to deport Abrego Garcia to El Salvador even though ICE, DOJ and the solicitor general say it was a mistake.
DOJ’s 5pm update to Judge Xinis should be enlightening.
Below are some more reactions:
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