The New York Times reports:
President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador rejected any notion that he would return Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia to the United States, saying it would be akin to smuggling “a terrorist” into the United States. In fact, the Trump administration has said in court that the deportation of Mr. Abrego was an “administrative error.” Stephen Miller, the architect of Trump’s immigration agenda, also scoffed at questions over returning Garcia, arguing that he was now in the custody of Bukele.
This meeting is one of the starkest examples of a foreign leader fawning over and placating to Trump during a visit to the Oval Office. El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, has praised Trump’s approach to immigration and the border, which was expected. But Bukele also joined Trump in criticizing politicians who supported allowing transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports. He also joked about how his staff do not include “D.E.I. hires.” Bukele has positioned himself as the MAGA equivalent in Latin America.
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COLLINS: Can President Bukele weigh in on this? Do you plan to return Garcia?
BUKELE: How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? Of course I’m not going to do it. The question is preposterous
TRUMP: These are sick people pic.twitter.com/y2FhtZsAhL
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 14, 2025
Trump says he’d like to deport American citizens to a gulag in El Salvador: “I’d like to go a step further. I said to Pam, I don’t know what the laws are, we always have to obey the laws, but we also have homegrown criminals that push people into subways … I’d like to include… pic.twitter.com/noStvA8JI8
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 14, 2025
Trump: “I took my cognitive exam as part of my physical exam, and I got the highest mark, and one of the doctors said, ‘Sir, I’ve never seen anybody get that kind of — that was the highest mark.'” pic.twitter.com/eY2FWYGin3
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 14, 2025
Trump on how many migrants he plans to deport to El Salvador: “I just asked the president, it’s this massive complex that he built, jail complex. I said, ‘Can you build some more of them please?’ As many as we can get out of our country.” pic.twitter.com/cqslCzuP9D
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 14, 2025
Rubio: “No court in the United States has a right to conduct the foreign policy of the United States.” pic.twitter.com/s5L1vAzDHg
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 14, 2025
Trump on the arson attack on Gov. Shapiro: “The attacker was not a fan of Trump I understand. Just from what I read and what I’ve been told … probably just a whack job.” pic.twitter.com/IB0NFrcW9k
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 14, 2025
Trump has fully turned on Zelenskyy: “He’s always looking to purchase missiles. Listen, when you start a war, you gotta know you can win a war. You don’t start a war against somebody that’s 20 times your size and then hope that people give you some missiles.” pic.twitter.com/1hBWeyu2hg
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 14, 2025