A White House press briefing grew unusually tense on Thursday as Sarah Sanders faced questions about the Trump administration’s immigration policy of family separation at the border.
“The attorney general earlier today said that somehow there is a justification for this in the Bible,” CNN’s Jim Acosta told Sanders. “Where does it say in the Bible that it is moral to take children away from their mothers?”
Attorney General Jeff Sessions had cited Romans 13 — a New Testament verse about submission to civil authorities — in remarks to a group of law enforcement earlier Thursday.
[Related: GOP looks to end family separation at the border in immigration bill]
Sanders, who said she was unaware of Sessions’ comments, told reporters “it is very biblical to enforce the law. That is actually repeated a number of times throughout the Bible.”
Acosta began to respond when Sanders shot back: “I know it’s hard for you to understand even short sentences.”
One of Acosta’s CNN colleagues, Brian Karem, then jumped in.
“Come on, Sarah, you’re a parent. Don’t you have any empathy for what these people are going through?” Karem yelled repeatedly.
“Brian, guys, settle down. I’m trying to be serious but I’m not going to have you guys yell out of turn,” Sanders said, as the White House reporter for Playboy and CNN analyst continued to shout questions at her.
“Brian, I know that you want to get some more TV time but that’s not what this is about,” she added.
The White House has faced mounting questions in recent weeks about the surge in unaccompanied minors being separated from their parents after arriving illegally in the U.S. Some have been placed in crowded shelters where they are limited to two hours of outside “play time” each day and are forced to sleep in small rooms with several others due to overcrowding.
