president s term we are infiltrating, every single child that is border seeking refuge is a gang member. you take that language and you move into, oh, wow, we lost 1,500 children we can t find what does it matter? they are a bunch of illegals, gang members animals. animals. so we have to make the country has to make a connection with what it s not just dog whistles. this is actual policy being made with this kind of rhetoric and there are deep, deep consequences. this is a sad moment because it s real. we are living through this dehumanization, it s real. and it s direct, coreen. when he says these aren t people, these are animals it s a way of signaling to his base no matter what you hear next about what i m doing you don t have to worry about sympathizing with those people. they are not really people, they are all conflated.
he would want to use here. jon: he referred to nancy pelosi and how she reacted as house minority leader to his animals comment. i want to play some of that for you now. when the president of the united states says about undocumented immigrants these aren t people, these are animals, you have to wonder does he not believe in the divinity and dignity and worth of every person? the president was speaking specifically about ms-13 gang members, not illegal immigrants at large. yes. the president and white house have been using the democrats response to his animal comments to their political advantage suggesting here that democrats nancy pelosi, chief among them, are coming to ms-13 s defense how could you possibly be defending these brutal people who do those horrific crimes? they are speaking past each
about messaging both in that sort of populist sense but also with a political intent. jon: a lot of people were critical of the president for using that characterization of animals. i want to play exactly what he said and for those who haven t heard it they can make their own determinations as to what he meant. listen here. ms-13 gang members i know about. i cannot tell ice about them. president trump: we have people coming into the country, trying to come in. we re taking people out of the country. you wouldn t believe how bad these people are. these aren t people, these are animals. jon: these are animals. the white house is just out with a statement in the last 24 hours or so doubling down on that term. an official white house statement calling ms-13 gang members animals. right. why are they doing that, jon? it reflects the president s viewpoint. but secondly because they believe it s a political winner.
these aren t people. these are animals. so today one week after president trump made those comments slamming ms-13, he s taking his tough immigration agenda to long island in a couple of hours. 2:00 eastern he s going to be leading a round table on immigration and the impact of the violent ms-13 gong. federal and local law enforcement officers are expected to be there along with victims of gang violence. and then tonight the spres doing some campaigning. he s got a round table with supporters in manhattan. kelly o donnell is on the road. she s joins us now from bethpage new york. fill us in on why the president picked long island. why s he going there? reporter: well, he wants to talk about the international gang known as ms-13, originated in los angeles, but they have had a real impact on long island with almost a surge in the last year or two with murders as a result. so real-life violence in a community where the president can point to this and say that
the country, trying to come in. we re stopping a lot of them. but we re taking people out of the country. you wouldn t believe how bad these people are. these aren t people. these are animals. after taking that hard hit at violent ms 13 gang members, returning to push his immigration ajaend da at a roundtable discussion with law enforcement and gang members. continuinge ing ing a conversat serious crackdown on gangs. composed seriously of immigrants. let me start with you, kelly o donnell. a list of participants. attorney general, jeff sessions, you know very supportive of this push by the president in the past. he is not going to be there, we ve learned.