Culture

People Are Calling Sarah Huckabee Sanders Out For Her ‘Law And Order’ Defense Of Ending DACA

Unsurprisingly, President Trump’s decision to rescind the DACA program initiated by his predecessor (via Attorney General Jeff Sessions, of course) has met a great deal of criticism. One of the more notable reactions was that of Javier Palomarez, the head of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, who announced his resignation from Trump’s National Diversity Council on live television. During Sarah Huckabee Sanders’s White House Press Briefing just before 2pm ET, the young press secretary found herself on the receiving end of the press corp’s own similar reactions.

Calling Trump’s decision “cold-hearted,” one reporter asked what the White Hosue’s message was to those directly affected by the DACA decision. (The question was especially prescient considering Trump’s comments in February, when he promised to treat DREAMers with “great heart.”) “It’s not cold hearted for the president to uphold the law,” she responded. “We’re a nation of law and order, and the day that we start to ignore the fact that we are that, we throw away everything that gives these people a reason to want to come to our country.”

Sanders also took the opportunity to rail against critics who “[attack] the president for not showing the level of compassion that they feel like he should.” Recently, many called Trump out for his apparent lack of empathy toward the victims of Hurricane Harvey — despite his promise to donate $1 million of his own money toward the relief effort. (More on that later.) The press secretary didn’t mention Harvey specifically, though she did use the podium to criticize Rep. Nancy Pelosi” and other Democrats who “are using this decision today for fundraising.”

Seeing as how Trump quickly began campaigning for the 2020 presidential election not long after he entered the White House in January, Sanders’ Pelosi comment seems fickle at best. Even so, her reference to “law and order” and Trump’s wish that rescinding DACA’s protections be carried out in an orderly fashion drew plenty of ire on their own accord.

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Sanders also accidentally referred to Trump as “President Obama,” a minor slip that immediately caught the attention of the journalists gathered in the briefing room and those watching at home.

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As for the aforementioned $1 million donation from Trump to Harvey victims, a visibly frustrated Sanders quickly brought the briefing to a close by saying the president would announce which charities would get his money on Wednesday.