Trump defends ‘animals’ remark, says he will always use it

President Donald Trump on Thursday defended his use of the word “animals” to describe some immigrants who enter the country illegally, saying he would continue to use the term to refer to violent gang members in spite of a sharp rebuke from Democratic leaders.

Answering a reporter’s question during a meeting with NATO SecretaryGeneral Jens Stoltenberg, Trump said his comment a day earlier had clearly been directed at members of the MS-13 gang.

“MS-13, these are animals coming onto our country,” Trump said, repeating his language from Wednesday. He added: “When the MS-13 comes in, when the other gang members come into our country, I refer to them as animals. And guess what? I always will.”

Trump has been under fire for comments he made Wednesday while railing against California for its so-called sanctuary immigration policies. Trump was speaking at a roundtable with local California officials when he responded to a comment that had referenced MS-13.

“We have people coming into the country, or trying to come in — and we’re stopping a lot of them,” Trump said after Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims complained about state restrictions that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities. “You wouldn’t believe how bad these people are. These aren’t people. These are animals.”