Donald Trump Jr. called MSNBC “clowns” after he was asked a question about his father’s immigration policy on the floor of the national Republican convention on Monday.
The president’s son tried to dismiss a question from MSNBC reporter Jacob Soboroff during an exchange on the convention floor on Monday. He pressed Trump Jr. on whether there would be similar policies in a second Trump administration to those that separated migrant children from their families.
“I know immigration is important to him. I covered the family separation crisis closely. Will we continue to see policies like separating 5,000 children deliberately from their parents?” Soboroff asked Trump Jr. Monday while on the convention floor.
“You mean the Obama administration?” Trump Jr. replied.
“You know they didn’t do that, sir,” Soboroff responded before asking him again whether there would be another family separation policy.
“It’s MSDNC,” he replied. “See, so I expect nothing less from you clowns. Even, even today, even 48 hours later. You couldn’t wait. You couldn’t wait with your lies and with your nonsense, so just get out of here.”
Former President Trump has repeatedly claimed that the family separation policy was implemented during the Obama administration, but numerous fact-checks have debunked that claim.
The Trump administration implemented a zero-tolerance policy for those who crossed the southern border illegally in 2018, resulting in hundreds of migrant children being separated from their parents. The former president eventually ended the zero-tolerance policy after facing backlash over the practice.
The Biden campaign has targeted Trump over the policy and has warned what a second Trump administration’s immigration stances could look like.