The president lashed out when challenged on his claims about the tattoos on a deported dad’s left hand.
President Donald Trump complained that an interviewer for ABC News wasn’t “being very nice” when he refused to back up the president’s claims about a Maryland dad who was mistakenly deported.
During an interview Tuesday with Terry Moran marking the first 100 days of his second presidential term, Trump insisted that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, mistakenly deported to El Salvador’s brutal CECOT mega-prison on March 15, had “MS-13” tattooed across his knuckles.
“There’s disagreement about that,” Moran said, trying to move on to the next topic.
“Wait a minute. Wait a minute,” Trump objected. “He had ‘MS-13’ tattooed on his knuckles.”
“He had tattoos that are interpreted that way,” Moran clarified. “But let’s move on.”Earlier this month, Trump posted a photo on social media of Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s hand showing four tattoos—a marijuana leaf, smiley face, cross, and skull. On the image, the numbers and letters “M-S-1-3” had been digitally added above each tattoo to argue that the symbols were a code signifying gang membership.
Experts, however, have stated that these tattoos are not associated with Mara Salvatrucha, a criminal gang originating among Salvadoran immigrants in Los Angeles in the 1980s. The gang spread to Central America when its members were deported after the Salvadoran civil war ended in the early 1990s.
Criminal justice experts told CBS News that members have been known to tattoo the gang’s colloquial name “MS-13” on their bodies, along with images of devil horns. But a community activist who had worked with gang members for more than 25 years said he had never seen a gang member with Abrego Garcia’s knuckle tattoos.
A former gang member turned professor told CBS he had consulted current gang members, and even they didn’t think the tattoos stood for MS-13.
“Wait a minute. Terry. Terry, Terry,” Trump said during Tuesday’s interview, refusing to move on.
“He did not have the letters ‘M-S-1-3’,” Moran said.
“It says ‘M-S-1-3’,” Trump insisted.
“That was digitally altered,” Moran said.
When Trump first shared the photo on April 19, internet users argued it was misleading because Trump had not clearly indicated that the image had been digitally modified to include the alleged gang “context.”
The president’s online defenders countered that it was obvious the letters and numbers had been added to illustrate the president’s claims. Trump’s exchange with Moran, however, made it seem like Trump believed the letters and numbers were part of the original tattoo.
“It was altered? Terry, you can’t do that,” Trump told Moran.
“Hey, they’re giving you the break of a lifetime,” he continued. “You’re doing the interview. I picked you because—frankly, I’d never heard of you but that’s okay. I picked you but you’re not being very nice. He had ‘MS-13’ tattooed—”
“We’ll agree to disagree. I want to move on to something else,” Moran said.
“Terry. Terry. Do you want me to show you the picture?” Trump said.
Moran said he’d seen it and repeated again that Abrego Garcia only had tattoos that can be “interpreted” as evidence of gang membership. He tried to turn the topic of conversation to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but Trump wasn’t having it.
The administration has tried to justify deporting Abrego Garcia, a migrant from El Salvador whom an immigration judge had granted a form of legal protection called a “withholding of removal order,” by saying he’s a “terrorist” and a member of the notorious MS-13 gang.
The 29-year-old is married to a U.S. citizen and was working full-time as a sheet metal apprentice when he was suddenly detained and deported without being allowed to appear before a judge.
He doesn’t have a criminal record, and no court has found him to be a member of a gang. Instead, Trump officials have offered up tenuous evidence of Abrego Garcia’s MS-13 “membership,” including the tattoos.
“No, no. Terry. Terry,” Trump insisted. “No, no. No, no. He had ‘M-S’ as clear as can be, not ‘interpreted.’ This is why people no longer believe the news, because—”
At that point Moran—who had responded to Trump’s earlier digs with a smile—sighed the kind of deep sigh that parents of toddlers know well.
He pointed out that the letters “MS-13” don’t appear in any of the photos of Abrego Garcia taken since he was deported to El Salvador.
“Terry!” Trump interjected.
“Ukraine, sir,” Moran practically begged.
“He’s got ‘MS-13’ on his knuckles, okay?” Trump said. “You’re just such a disservice. Why don’t you just say, ‘Yes, he does’ and go on to something else?”
“It’s contested,” Moran replied. “Ukraine.”