Fox News' Shep Smith calls out Trump for saying migrant kids are being treated 'very well'

Fox News anchor Shepard Smith lambasted President Trump on Tuesday after Trump told reporters that migrant children being held at U.S. detention centers are treated "very well."
Last week, lawyers inspecting a Border Patrol facility in Clint, Texas, that housed more than 250 migrant children described the conditions there as being "deplorable." The children wore dirty clothes, did not have access to toothbrushes, toothpaste, or soap, and were sleeping on concrete floors. When asked about humanitarian aid for the children, Trump said he hopes lawmakers pass a "humane bill," adding that Mexico is doing "much more for us than the Democrats in Congress" and his government is "treating them and doing a much better job than the Obama administration."
In response, Smith read back Fox News' reporting on how the children are being treated, and made a bold statement. "We reportedly accurately here yesterday that were these prisoners of war rather than children, withholding of those items would be violations of the Geneva Convention," he said. "That's what the president considers treating well the children of migrants who came across the border without documents."
Subscribe to 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.
Those kids are separated from their families, Smith continued, and while many were removed from the Clint detention center on Monday, 100 were returned on Tuesday "to that facility, which is incapable of providing toothbrushes and toothpaste and soap, where children were sitting in their own filth. Those are the facts at that facility." Catherine Garcia
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Today's political cartoons - March 8, 2025
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - trade wars, healthcare costs, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Marbled tea eggs recipe
The Week Recommends With a beautiful exterior, these eggs are also marked by their soft yolk
By The Week UK Published
-
The Washington Post: kowtowing to Trump?
Talking Point The newspaper's opinion editor has handed in his notice following edict from Jeff Bezos
By The Week UK Published
-
Trump eases Mexico, Canada tariffs again as markets slide
speed read The president suspended some of the 25% tariffs he imposed on Mexican and Canadian imports
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump tells Cabinet they are in charge of layoffs, not Musk
Speed Read The White House has faced mounting complaints about DOGE's sweeping cuts
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Rep. Sylvester Turner dies, weeks after joining House
Speed Read The former Houston mayor and longtime state legislator left behind a final message for Trump: 'Don't mess with Medicaid'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump pauses Ukraine intelligence sharing
Speed Read The decision is intended to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy into peace negotiations with Vladimir Putin
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court rules against Trump on aid freeze
Speed Read The court rejected the president's request to freeze nearly $2 billion in payments for foreign humanitarian work
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump touts early wins in partisan speech to Congress
Speed Read The president said he is 'just getting started' with his sweeping changes to immigration, the economy and foreign policy
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trudeau blasts Trump's 'very dumb' trade war
Speed Read Retaliatory measures have been announced by America's largest trading partners following Trump's tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump pauses military aid to Ukraine after public spat
Speed Read Trump and J.D. Vance berated Volodymyr Zelenskyy for what they saw as insufficient gratitude
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published