Trump's 'Low IQ' Comment At The Debate Caused Quite A Stir
We can only believe that President Donald Trump must have the country's best interests at heart when his administration gave the green light to a strict immigrant detention policy. But when asked to explain why he didn't trust that immigrants wouldn't go to court to show up for their hearings, Trump said, "Only the really... I hate to say this... but those with the lowest IQ... they might come back..." before he was interrupted by moderator Kristen Welker (via Twitter).
To prove Trump's comment was a misconception, Vox pointed out that 99 percent of asylum seekers who had not been detained or who had been released from immigration custody had showed up for their hearings. The data was based on findings from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University, a think tank that tracks immigration court data. This is even though 69 percent of asylum seekers were denied asylum as a result of these hearings.
Perhaps the most consequential reaction to the comment came from the official Twitter account of the National Association of Immigrant Judges, who retweeted a clip of the exchange with the comment: "This is false. And we would know."
The president was branded a racist for his comments
Social media users quickly jumped on the president's comment and labelled it as "racist," with one person commenting: "I absolutely think this is being overlooked right now. Trump spoke the most offensive statement ever made by a president. 'Immigrants are low IQ.' Truly disgusting." Others took to social media to defend their parents against what they saw as a racist attack. One tweeted: "My immigrant parents are not rapists, not criminals, not drug dealers. They don't have low IQs. They are hard workers. They care for me and my brothers so selflessly. They are dream seekers." Another said: "just a reminder my mom swam across the rio grande to get here, and is neither a murderer, rapist, nor a person w/a low IQ, is an incredibly beloved public school tutor, and gave birth to a high school valedictorian and top 20 university grad!" A third said: "nah that low iq comment's got me f***ed up... my dad's literally an immigrant from panama and ik for a fact he isnt a criminal or has a low iq. its making me itch."
Mary Trump, who always has a comeback for every comment her uncle Donald Trump had to say had just this to say about his low IQ comment: "Low IQ — there he goes projecting again." She also said: "The only thing more grotesque than the cruelty and the lying is the racism."