In Combative Interview, Trump Insists He Will Not Facilitate Abrego Garcia’s Return to U.S.

President Trump acknowledged that, if he wanted to, he could get Kilmar Abrego Garcia back to the United States by calling El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele and explaining that that’s what he wanted done. But, in a combative interview with ABC News, the president said he would not do that because Abrego Garcia is an MS-13 member.

Referring to Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran illegal alien the Trump administration repatriated despite a 2019 “withholding of removal” order that prohibited his deportation to El Salvador, Trump told ABC’s Terry Moran, “If he were the gentleman that you say he is, I would do that” — meaning, call Bukele. “But he is not.”

About the Author

Andrew C. McCarthy

Andrew C. McCarthy is a senior fellow at National Review Institute, an NR contributing editor, and author of Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency.

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President Trump acknowledged that, if he wanted to, he could get Kilmar Abrego Garcia back to the United States by calling El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele and explaining that that’s what he wanted done. But, in a combative interview with ABC News, the president said he would not do that because Abrego Garcia is an MS-13 member.

Referring to Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran illegal alien the Trump administration repatriated despite a 2019 “withholding of removal” order that prohibited his deportation to El Salvador, Trump told ABC’s Terry Moran, “If he were the gentleman that you say he is, I would do that” — meaning, call Bukele. “But he is not.”

About the Author

Andrew C. McCarthy

Andrew C. McCarthy is a senior fellow at National Review Institute, an NR contributing editor, and author of Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency.