Day 709: Trump falsely and shamefully blames Democrats for deaths of two children

The Donald Trump administration admitted that it had been a decade since a child died in Border Patrol custody until two children died in December. Trump is now blaming Democrats for their deaths, despite the fact that his own inhumane border policies likely led, in part, to their deaths.

Since taking office, Trump has substantially increased detention times, separated children from their families and held migrants in prison camps with decrepit conditions.

The family of a girl who died explicitly blamed Border Patrol for refusing to provide water when the family was detained.

The family of a boy who died shared similar thoughts, telling reporters that he was doing well every time he called home during the trek with his father.

And while Trump claimed the children were sick when they arrived, DHS claimed that there was nothing wrong with them and they passed initial health screenings.

People have been trying to cross the border for decades. Trump claiming that Democrats are enticing people to try and cross the border flies in the face of what Trump has previously claimed: that his own policies — such as forced family separation — deter would-be immigrants from trying to make it to the U.S.

By saying if there was a wall people wouldn’t even try to cross the border ignores the fact that walls are far from infallible. There are existing structures at the border that are penetrable, need repair or have been burrowed under.

Trump doesn’t have the mental capacity to do anything but repeat the same tropes blaming Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi or Democrats as a whole for any error undertaken by anyone.

In this case, Trump’s sinking lower than ever by shamefully trying to wash his hands of children’s blood by wiping it on the Democrats. The facts, however, point to his and his administration's culpability in their deaths.

709 days in, 753 to go

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