Trump says he "could" bring Ábrego García back from El Salvador
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President Trump speaks during a rally in Warren, Michigan Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images
President Trump told Terry Moran he's "not being very nice" during a heated interview marking his first 100 days in office, as the ABC journalist challenged him on the detention in El Salvador of a Maryland father.
Why it matters: The Trump administration has refused to comply with court orders to return Salvadoran national Kilmar Ábrego García, who was erroneously deported, despite a Supreme Court ruling requiring officials to facilitate the U.S. resident's return.
Driving the news: During the interview that ABC News broadcast Tuesday evening, Moran asked Trump what he was doing to comply with the court orders.
- "This is a MS-13 gang member," Trump claimed. "A tough cookie, been in lots of skirmishes, beat the hell out of his wife, and the wife was petrified to talk about him," Trump said, in reference to a temporary protective order in 2021 that Jennifer Vasquez Sura said she filed "out of caution after a disagreement with Kilmar."
- "This is not an innocent, wonderful gentleman from Maryland," added Trump about Ábrego García, who has never been convicted of any gang-related crime.
Zoom in: Moran said he wasn't saying Ábrego García was a good guy; it's about the rule of law and the Supreme Court ruling. "You could get him back," Moran said.
- "I could," responded Trump, who has previously said he hasn't asked El Salvador President Nayib Bukele to return Ábrego García.
- Moran suggested Trump could phone Bukele and say, "Send him back right now."
- Trump shot back, "And if he were the gentleman you say he is, I would do that."
- Trump said he wasn't the one making the decision in the matter and the administration has lawyers that "don't want to do this."
- Moran pointed out he's the president and the buck stops at the White House, but Trump said he follows the law. "If I were the president that just wanted to do anything, I'd probably keep him right where he is," he added.
The intrigue: Trump later raised his claims that Ábrego García "had MS-13 on his knuckles," but Moran raised that experts had cast doubt on the veracity of a photo the president had shared purporting to show this tattoo on the Maryland man's hand suggesting he's a gang member.
- "That was Photoshop," Moran said, but Trump continued to reject this.
Go deeper: Ábrego García detention shows Trump's "gross violations" of Constitution: Van Hollen
