Trump just delivered a jarringly graphic speech about the 'killing fields' on Long Island
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
-
The app that checks if you are deadIn The Spotlight Viral app cashing in on number of people living alone in China
-
Three consequences from the Jenrick defectionThe Explainer Both Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage may claim victory, but Jenrick’s move has ‘all-but ended the chances of any deal to unite the British right’
-
Why is London’s property market slumping?Today's Big Question Some sellers have reported losses of hundreds of thousands of pounds
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
-
Trump says US ‘in charge’ of Venezuela after Maduro grabSpeed Read The American president claims the US will ‘run’ Venezuela for an unspecified amount of time, contradicting a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio
-
Bari Weiss’ ‘60 Minutes’ scandal is about more than one reportIN THE SPOTLIGHT By blocking an approved segment on a controversial prison holding US deportees in El Salvador, the editor-in-chief of CBS News has become the main story
-
CBS pulls ‘60 Minutes’ report on Trump deporteesSpeed Read An investigation into the deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s notorious prison was scrapped
-
Trump administration posts sliver of Epstein filesSpeed Read Many of the Justice Department documents were heavily redacted, though new photos of both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton emerged
-
Trump HHS moves to end care for trans youthSpeed Read The administration is making sweeping proposals that would eliminate gender-affirming care for Americans under age 18
-
Jack Smith tells House of ‘proof’ of Trump’s crimesSpeed Read President Donald Trump ‘engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election,’ hoarded classified documents and ‘repeatedly tried to obstruct justice’