During a press conference where he declared a national emergency to build the border wall, President Trump referred CNN’s Jim Acosta Friday to a group of Angel Moms, who lost children at the hands of illegal immigrants.
"What do you say to your critics who say that you are creating a national emergency, that you're concocting a national emergency here in order to get your wall?" Acosta asked Trump.
"I'll ask the angel moms," Trump answered. "What do you think, do you think I'm creating something? Ask these incredible women who lost their daughters and their sons."
Following the event, these moms confronted Acosta and ended up on CNN’s live broadcast holding photos of the children they had lost.
After Angel Moms confront Jim Acosta, he invites them to join him on air pic.twitter.com/VCL5DyzgXZ
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) February 15, 2019
After that somewhat heated exchange, Angel Moms are discussing immigration with @Acosta. One mom who lost her daughter tells him “there is a huge problem..there are mothers going through this everyday.”
— Christal Hayes (@Journo_Christal) February 15, 2019
Acosta tells them he didn’t mean to offend, says “my heart goes out to you” pic.twitter.com/owkb9pUGUi
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Jim Acosta convinced by Angel Moms to do a live shot with with them behind him. They’re telling their story on @CNN now. Finally the network airs #realnews pic.twitter.com/W3pwV3cSWl
— Jon Miller (@MillerStream) February 15, 2019
One mother, Agnes Gibboney, told Acosta the story of her son and said that Trump was “completely correct on this issue.”
Her son, Ronald da Silva, was “shot and killed in El Monte by Luis Gonzales, a gang member and undocumented immigrant,” in 2002.
Gonzales plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter, according to the Whittier Daily News.
Acosta and CNN’s Kate Bolduan emphasized during the segment that they were not trying to “diminish” these women's stories.
"President Trump is completely correct on this issue," an 'angel mom' whose son was killed by an undocumented immigrant tells CNN's @Acosta reacting to Trump declaring a national emergency to secure funding for a border wall. https://t.co/MfIjYpN1Cq pic.twitter.com/bTdEVZBRdK
— CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) February 15, 2019
Prior to the event, Acosta described the Angel Moms as parents of those who were "allegedly killed by undocumented immigrants.”
"We believe those are some of the Angel Moms that the president has talked so much about out on the campaign trail, at rallies and so on," he said. "These are parents of victims who were allegedly killed by undocumented immigrants. The president likes to point to these folks who have been through some terrible experiences as evidence a wall is needed down at the border."
"If we are seeing some of the Angel Moms coming in, the president will be trying to drum up some emotional energy on this occasion, to try to sell the wall," he added. "We have seen him do it before."
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