Hillary Clinton weighed in Monday morning on the ongoing controversy regarding the Trump administration’s “no-tolerance” border policy, suggesting that Jesus would not condone the actions of the American border authorities.
At an awards lunch for the Women’s Forum of New York, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee called out “those who selectively use the Bible” to give grounds for the separations, which were reported by the Department of Justice on Friday.
“I went to a lot of years of Sunday school — even taught it from time to time. I’ve studied both the Old and New Testament, and what is being done using the name of religion is contrary to everything I was ever taught,” Clinton said. “Jesus said, ‘Suffer the little children unto me.’ He did not say, ‘Let the children suffer.’”
Clinton’s comments appear to be in response to Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ invoking scripture last Thursday in response to criticisms from various Christian groups, as well as well-known evangelical leader Rev. Franklin Graham.
“Persons who violate the law of our nation are subject to prosecution,” Sessions said. “I would cite you to the Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command in Romans 13 to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained the government for his purposes.”
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders backed up Sessions’ remarks during a later press briefing, in which she told CNN’s Jim Acosta that it is “very biblical to enforce the law.”
Clinton further decried the White House’s assertion that the zero tolerance policy is mandated by law as an “outright lie.”
“Separating families is not mandated by the law — at all,” Clinton said. “And it’s incumbent on all of us, journalists and citizens alike to call it just that.”
Hillary Clinton: “Those who selectively use the Bible to justify this cruelty are ignoring a central tenet of Christianity … [Jesus] did not say, ‘Let the children suffer.’” – (corrects: tenet) pic.twitter.com/AQmL4g8901
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) June 18, 2018
