Trump's Immigration Comment At The Debate Has The Internet Seeing Red
Days before the final presidential debate, reports surfaced that as many as 545 immigrant children are without their parents and continue to live in shelters (via Vox). Lawyers who are trying to help say some of the children may never see their families again. The families had been broken up under a federal program that mandated parents be sent to immigration centers, and children to a separate facility operated by the Department of Health and Human Services . The New York Times further reports that about 60 of the children were under five when the separations took place.
The matter came up during the final debate between President Donald Trump and his challenger Joe Biden. Biden addressed the separations, saying: "Kids were ripped from their [parents'] arms ... It's criminal." But it was President Donald Trump's comment that both stunned and angered the internet when he replied: "They are so well taken care of ... they're in facilities that were so clean."
Twitter was set off by Trump's comment about children who have been detained
If there is one thing from the debate that set the Internet off, it may have been that comment. Trump's response triggered a barrage of angry responses from social media users who were simply flabbergasted. One user tweeted: "'They are so well taken care of in facilities that are so clean.' It's 'GOOD' that 500+ children may never be reunited with their parents. – POTUS on kids who may never see their parents again because of his abominable cruelty. Do you have a children? Imagine losing them forever." Another posted: "I guarantee that those kids are experiencing horrors we may never know about ... it makes me feel sick. Even the phrasing. What if they're being sexually assaulted, abused or trafficked? 'Well taken care of' takes on a different meaning."
Some were less articulate, but no less aghast, with one saying: "Did he really say 'The kids are very well taken care of.' ??? WTF is wrong with him?" Another tweeted: "trump really said the kids in ICE are well taken care of... ?????? wtf !!"
Perhaps the most indelible posts are the ones shared by accounts like The Lincoln Project, which showed video footage of the children in detention. Others shared accounts from the children themselves who talked about what it was like to be taken away.