WH Defends Trump’s Remarks on How to Treat MS-13 Gang Members: He Was Joking – CNSNews.com

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders (Screenshot of White House video)

(CNSNews.com) - President Donald Trump is taking heat for comments he made last week that some believe seemed to endorse police brutality against members of the MS-13 gang and criminal cartels.

During an event to highlight law enforcements efforts to combat the MS-13 gang in Long Island, N.Y., the president said Acting ICE Director Tom Homans guys are rough.

And I can tell you, I saw some photos where Toms guys -- rough guys. They're rough. I don't want to be -- say it because theyll say that's not politically correct. You're not allowed to have rough people doing this kind of work, Trump said.

Later in the speech, Trump said, Right now, we have less than 6,000 Enforcement and Removal Officers in ICE. This is not enough to protect a nation of more than 320 million people. It's essential that Congress fund another 10,000 ICE officers -- and we're asking for that -- so that we can eliminate MS-13 and root out the criminal cartels from our country.

He went on to say, Now, we're getting them out anyway, but we'd like to get them out a lot faster, and when you see these towns and when you see these thugs being thrown into the back of a paddy wagon -- you just see them thrown in, rough -- I said, please dont be too nice.

Like when you guys put somebody in the car and you're protecting their head, you know, the way you put their hand over? Like, dont hit their head and they've just killed somebody -- don't hit their head. I said, you can take the hand away, okay? the president said, while the audience applauded and laughed.

When asked about the presidents comments on Monday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the president was joking.

When the president made his speech to police officers on Friday, almost within minutes, statements came from police chiefs across the country criticizing his remarks that seemed to endorse the use of force by police in certain arrests. Was the president joking when he said this, or did he check his remarks out with the International Association of Police Chiefs or maybe the Attorney General? a reporter asked at Mondays White House press briefing.

I believe he was making a joke at the time, Sanders said.

Acting DEA Administrator Chuck Rosenberg sent an agency-wide email on Saturday, obtained by Politico, which clarified how the agency treats suspects.

The President, in remarks delivered yesterday in New York, condoned police misconduct regarding the treatment of individuals placed under arrest by law enforcement, Rosenberg wrote.

I write to offer a strong reaffirmation of the operating principles to which we, as law enforcement professionals, adhere. I write because we have an obligation to speak out when something is wrong. Thats what law enforcement officers do. Thats what you do. We fix stuff. At least, we try, Rosenberg added.

Rosenberg outlined the core valuesby whichhis agency operates.

This is how we conduct ourselves. This is how we treat those whom we encounter in our work: victims, witnesses, subjects, and defendants. This is who we are. I am incredibly grateful that you endeavor to live up to our Core Values, each day, he said.

It is not always easy, but it is always important. We must earn and keep the public trust and continue to hold ourselves to the very highest standards. Ours is an honorable profession and, so, we will always act honorably, Rosenberg concluded.

On Tuesday, reporters pressed the White House press secretary again about the presidents comments and her response that Trump was joking.

Yesterday, you said that the president was joking about his comments, putting suspects' heads -- telling police officers they shouldnt cover their heads in putting them in the car. Was he making a joke about police brutality?

Not at all. I think you guys are jumping and trying to make something out of nothing. He was simply making a comment, making a joke, and it was nothing more than that, Sanders said.

On that same issue, the head of the DEA wrote immediately after the president made those remarks -- to officers of the DEA -- telling them to disregard them, and saying he had an obligation to speak up when something wrong happened, a reporter at the briefing said.

It wasnt a directive, Sanders said about Trumps remarks. It was a joke. There's a very big difference.

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WH Defends Trump's Remarks on How to Treat MS-13 Gang Members: He Was Joking - CNSNews.com