Utah’s Republican Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox tweeted in the middle of the night that he was furious over the Trump administration’s decision to prosecute all illegal entrants and consequently separate adults from minors that he just wanted to go “punch” someone.
“Can’t sleep tonight. I know I shouldn’t tweet. But I’m angry. And sad. I hate what we’ve become. My wife wants to go & hold babies & read to lonely/scared/sad kids. I want to punch someone. Political tribalism is stupid. It sucks & it’s dangerous. We are all part of the problem,” Cox tweeted at 3:24 a.m. Mountain time.
Can’t sleep tonight. I know I shouldn’t tweet. But I’m angry. And sad. I hate what we’ve become. My wife wants to go & hold babies & read to lonely/scared/sad kids. I want to punch someone. Political tribalism is stupid. It sucks & it’s dangerous. We are all part of the problem.
— Spencer Cox (@SpencerJCox) June 20, 2018
“Some in my party are doing and supporting things I never thought possible. You won’t believe me, but your party is capable of it too. We get what we deserve. If we want change, we have to change ourselves,” he added. “Turn off cable news forever. Get off Facebook (at least stop political posts). Ask ‘how would I react if the other party did this’ before forming an opinion. Get to know, listen to & love someone different. Elect people that don’t care about getting re-elected. Run for office.”
Cox also quoted Learned Hand, a judge and philosopher who lived in the late 1870s to the 1960s.
“The spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure that it is right; the spirit of liberty is the spirit which seeks to understand the minds of other men and women.” –Judge Learned Hand
— Spencer Cox (@SpencerJCox) June 20, 2018
A few hours later, with some rest under his belt, Cox said he still felt the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border was bleak, but was determined to solve the issue he said the GOP created.
“Wow. I woke up to a lot of people feeling pain & anger. LOVE YOU ALL! I know my party owns this. POTUS can stop this now. Congress must work together. Gov. Herbert & I are doing everything we can. We must lift the hands that hang down, reunite & mend the broken hearts,” Cox said.
Wow. I woke up to a lot of people feeling pain & anger. LOVE YOU ALL! I know my party owns this. POTUS can stop this now. Congress must work together. Gov. Herbert & I are doing everything we can. We must lift the hands that hang down, reunite & mend the broken hearts. ✊?❤️ https://t.co/rLzlbjsMXW
— Spencer Cox (@SpencerJCox) June 20, 2018
The situation at the border has gripped headlines in recent days and led to a tense debate in Washington.
More than 2,000 adults who attempted to illegally enter the U.S. from Mexico between ports of entry have been referred by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to the Justice Department for prosecution, forcing about the same number of children to be taken into federal custody, a Homeland Security Department official told reporters Tuesday.
Exactly 4,548 individuals came to the border as part of 2,235 family units and were apprehended between May 5 and June 9. The number of adults referred for prosecution was 2,206, resulting in 2,342 children being turned over to the Health and Human Services Department within 72 hours.
The Justice Department began prosecuting all illegal entrants, including first-time offenders, earlier this spring. Because children cannot remain with parent during the proceedings, HHS takes custody of the minors and will look for another family member or family friend in the U.S. to send the child to live with while his or her parent is in federal custody.
