Byron York's Daily Memo: 'The cruelty is the point'
by Byron York, Chief Political Correspondent |
| March 31, 2021 11:35 AM 'THE CRUELTY IS THE POINT' In 2018, Democrats, the press, and the political world rose up nearly as one to condemn then-President Donald Trump's brief policy of separating children and parents detained while illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. The uproar was at times hysterical, with overwrought commentators comparing the Trump policy to Nazi Germany. On June 16, 2018, for example, General Michael Hayden, the former CIA director and one of the most irresponsible voices of the anti-Trump Resistance, tweeted a photo of the Birkenau concentration camp with the message, "Other governments have separated mothers and children." Hayden was far from alone in his intemperance.
The Trump policy was brief because the president bowed to his critics and put a stop to it. The policy was in effect from early May until June 20, 2018, when Trump signed an executive order ending it. By the broadest count, it resulted in the separation of about 2,800 families. Most were ultimately re-united; by the end of last year, advocates said 545 children had never rejoined their parents.
One of the more notable criticisms of the Resistance was that Trump administration figures actually enjoyed inflicting pain on helpless immigrant children. "The cruelty is the point," some critics said.
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