Fox News host Brian Kilmeade argued Friday morning that the compassion owed migrant children separated from their parents is limited, since they’re “not our kids.”
“We can’t let everybody in that wants to be here. These are not, like it or not, these aren’t our kids,” he said on Fox and Friends. “Show them compassion. But it’s not like he is doing this to the people of Idaho or Texas. These are people from another country and now people are saying that they are more important than people in our country who are paying taxes and who have needs as well.”
President Donald Trump echoed the tenor of his favorite show later in the morning, tweeting “We must maintain a Strong Southern Border. We cannot allow our Country to be overrun by illegal immigrants,” going a bridge further and claiming baselessly that the heartbreaking images and audio of distraught children have been fabricated by Democrats.
Kilmeade addressed the backlash he received for the comments during his radio show later on Friday. “Meanwhile, I’m just realizing doing the show there’s some things getting some traction out there about something I said this morning about kids not being important, or unimportant,” he said. “All kids are important, all kids are special. What I’m just trying to say in this country when they come in, that as the President of the United States, you can only do so much for so many and that’s why we give so many aids to other countries.”
He also tweeted:
On FOX & Friends earlier, Of course-I didn’t mean to make it seem like children coming into the U.S. illegally are less important because they live in another country. I have compassion for all children, especially for all the kids separated from their parents right now. 1 of 2
— Brian Kilmeade (@kilmeade) June 22, 2018
Nobody wants to see children in these circumstances and glad they are on their way to being reunited with their parents.https://t.co/d1mmMlq0j9
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— Brian Kilmeade (@kilmeade) June 22, 2018
Watch below:
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) June 22, 2018
