'Any illegal immigrants?' Trump questions workers installing White House flagpoles [View all]
Source: ABC News
June 18, 2025, 11:18 PM
President Donald Trump's sweeping immigration policies made their way to the White House lawn on Wednesday, when he stopped to ask workers who helped install massive flagpoles at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. about their immigration status.
The remarks, appearing to be made in jest, came after a reporter asked the president about his administration's deportation efforts.
"We're taking them out by the thousands. Murderers, drug dealers, people that are mentally insane, from insane asylums," Trump began before turning to the row of hard hat-wearing construction workers standing behind him during the press conference. "Do we have anybody here who's a member of -- no, I don't think so. You've known these people for a long time?" he asked. "Any illegal immigrants?" The construction workers shook their heads, with a few chuckling, when Trump added, "If there were, we'll find out."
"Your whole life will be destroyed because of this press conference. They'll destroy these people. I didn't want to tell them that before they stood up," Trump said. "Don't worry, I think you're gonna be OK," the president told the workers.
Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/illegal-immigrants-trump-questions-workers-installing-white-house/story?id=122996015
When you have someone who has ordered his underlings to "disappear" people and remove them from the country, nothing he says is "in jest" and they need to stop normalizing what he says. It's no longer "rhetoric".
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