Trump Calls NYC Attack A ‘Horrible Act’ Committed By An ‘Animal’

President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

President Donald Trump on Wednesday condemned an attack in New York City on Tuesday that left eight people dead and 11 injured as a “horrible act” committed by an “animal.”

At the opening of a meeting with his Cabinet, Trump called for “punishment that’s far quicker, and far greater, than the punishment these animals are getting right now.”

“They’ll go through court for years. At the end, who knows what happens,” Trump said.

It was not clear what the President was advocating in place of the rights codified by the Sixth Amendment—”a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State.”

In response to a reporter’s question, however, Trump said he would “certainly consider” sending the attacker to the Guantanamo Bay detention center.

“I would certainly consider that. Send him to Gitmo,” Trump said. “I would certainly consider that, yes.”

Trump said that he will ask Congress to “immediately initiate work” to end the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, which he claimed the attacker used to enter the United States, though officials have not yet said whether that is true.

“I am today starting the process of terminating the diversity lottery program,” Trump said. “Sounds nice. It’s not good. it’s not good. It hasn’t been good. We’ve been against it. So we want to immediately work with Congress on the diversity lottery program on terminating it.”

Trump said he wants “a merit-based program” in its place.

“We have to get much less politically correct,” he said. “We’re so politically correct that we’re afraid to do anything.”

At the top of the meeting, Trump said that “all of America is praying and grieving” with the families of the victims.

“Our hearts break for them,” he said.

Officials on Wednesday identified the driver as Sayfullo Saipov, a 29-year-old who immigrated to the U.S. from Uzbekistan legally in 2010. According to authorities, Saipov shouted “God is great” in Arabic after he crashed his vehicle into a school bus and disembarked.

John Miller, the New York Police Department’s deputy police commissioner for intelligence, on Wednesday said Saipov “did this in the name of ISIS.”

As of Wednesday, Saipov was in critical condition but expected to survive after a police officer shot him in the abdomen a day earlier.

Trump’s rhetoric about the New York attack was unusually strong. While the President is quick to condemn acts he considers “radical Islamic terrorism,” he is less quick to respond to incidents where Muslims have been targeted, and has referred to crimes committed by white supremacists and hate groups using far kinder terms.

Latest Livewire

Notable Replies

  1. The fascist-in-chief. We don’t want any due process.

    US President Donald Trump has said he is open to sending the New York truck attack suspect to Guantanamo Bay.
    “I would certainly consider that,” he told reporters at a cabinet meeting. “Send him to Gitmo,” the president added, using the prison’s nickname.
    Mr Trump said the US needed “far greater” punishment for such “animals”.

    And why would he invoke Guantanamo? The State of New York has fine prisons and the assailant would almost certainly face the death penalty if convicted.

  2. This has to be the most ignorant “man” ever given a microphone.

  3. Avatar for pshah pshah says:

    According to Kelly, this was a compromise. Trump wanted to call him a “greasy pig”, but they settled on “animal”.

    No word yet about why the Las Vegas shooter isn’t an animal. Wait…what’s that? Some shooters are actually “fine people”, you say?

    Thank you General Kelly. Helluva job you’re doing minding the racist moron.

  4. Avatar for erik_t erik_t says:

    these animals


    I think the fact that we keep trying to drive, the media continues to want to make this and push that this is some sort of racially charged and divided White House

  5. Trump called for “punishment that’s far quicker, and far greater, than the punishment these animals are getting right now.”

    I don’t recall Trump applying that epithet to the even more horrific Vegas shooter.

    Or the Nazi driver in Charlottesville who drove through peaceful protesters.

    Gosh, I wonder what standard he uses.

    It’s a real head-scratcher…

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

49 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for kwoodgr Avatar for mondfledermaus Avatar for sysprog Avatar for mattinpa Avatar for epicurus Avatar for losamigos Avatar for sniffit Avatar for ralph_vonholst Avatar for tomanjeri Avatar for docb Avatar for maxaroo Avatar for topchap Avatar for greycardinal Avatar for darrtown Avatar for benthere Avatar for nishna Avatar for justapghgirlinacalworld Avatar for jtx Avatar for jacksonhts Avatar for milt69 Avatar for erik_t Avatar for marty110 Avatar for the_loan_arranger

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: