Trump just delivered a jarringly graphic speech about the 'killing fields' on Long Island
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
President Trump claimed in a speech Friday that brutal gang-related murders on New York's Long Island are "turning peaceful parks and beautiful, quiet neighborhoods into bloodstained killing fields," using a term that typically refers to the genocide in Cambodia. "They kidnap, they extort, they rape, and they rob," Trump said as he discussed the MS-13 gang while standing before uniformed law enforcement officers. "They prey on children. They shouldn't be here. They stomp on their victims. They beat them with clubs. They slash them with machetes, and they stab them with knives."
Later in the speech Trump added that people are "burned to death," "beaten to death" and "stuffed in barrels" by MS-13 members, many of whom he said are undocumented immigrants.
Trump promised to rid America of these "animals." "We are liberating our American towns," Trump said, marveling that the whole situation is like "a scene in a movie." "It's like the Old Wild West," he added.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Catch a snippet of Trump's graphic speech below. Becca Stanek
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com