Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski expressed no regrets Wednesday after facing a barrage of criticism for a comment he made in a TV interview that was widely reported as him mocking a disabled migrant child.
“Lots of Fake News today,” Lewandowski tweeted Wednesday. “I mocked a liberal who attempted to politicize children as opposed to discussing the real issue which is fixing a broken immigration system. It’s offenseive [sic] that the MSM doesn’t want to talk about the fact these policies were started under Obama.”
[Update: ‘Womp womp’: Corey Lewandowski reportedly canned by speakers bureau after disparaging remark]
Lots of Fake News today. I mocked a liberal who attempted to politicize children as opposed to discussing the real issue which is fixing a broken immigration system. It’s offenseive that the MSM doesn’t want to talk about the fact these policies were started under Obama.
— Corey R. Lewandowski (@CLewandowski_) June 20, 2018
During a Tuesday night panel discussion on Fox News, Lewandowski interrupted Democratic strategist Zac Petkanas as he was talking about a 10-year-old girl with Down syndrome, who was reportedly separated from her mother at the border as part of the Trump administration’s zero tolerance approach toward illegal immigration.
“Womp, womp,” Lewandowski said, speaking over Petkanas.
Petkanas fired back: “How absolutely dare you, sir!”
.@Zac_Petkanas says on Fox News a 10-year-old girl with Down Syndrome was separated from her mother at the border.
Corey Lewandowski responds: “Womp womp.” pic.twitter.com/cZMXWmwbjw
— Jon Passantino (@passantino) June 19, 2018
Lewandowski then argued that Petkanas could “pick anything” he wanted, “but the bottom line is very clear: When you cross the border illegally, you have given up the rights of this country.”
U.S Customs and Border Protection on Wednesday clarified to CNN that the girl was taken from her mother and held in a Texas detention facility not because of President Trump’s zero tolerance policy, but because the mother is a “material witness” in a human smuggling case.
The Trump administration’s zero tolerance policy has been widely condemned because it has resulted in many children being separated from their parents or guardians as the Justice Department prosecutes all illegal border crossings.
The White House has called on Congress to address the situation with legislation, defending the federal government’s stance by asserting administration officials are following the law.
