President Donald Trump's team is engaged in damage control after the commander-in-chief appeared to chuckle at — and make light of — a suggestion from one of his supporters that the federal government shoot migrants.
The comment was made as Trump denounced the legal protections currently granted to migrants in the U.S. and argued that his proposed southern border wall was a necessity.
"I mean, when you have 15,000 people marching up, and you have hundreds and hundreds of people, and you have two or three border security people that are brave and great — and don't forget, we don't let them, and we can't let them use weapons. We can't. Other countries do. We can't. I would never do that," Trump said, describing how border patrol agents are not supposed to shoot undocumented migrants.
After the president rhetorically asked, "How do you stop these people?" a member of the audience in Panama City Beach, Florida, responded: "Shoot them!"
Instead of disavowing the comment, Trump chuckled and replied, "Only in the Panhandle you can get away with that statement — only in the Panhandle."
Matt Wolking, the deputy director of communications (rapid response) for Trump, addressed critics of the president's quip on Twitter by including a transcript from the rally that left out the audience member's violent remark.
https://www.salon.com/2019/05/09/donald-trump-chuckles-after-supporter-suggests-migrants-should-be-shot-only-in-the-panhandle/
