Corey Lewandowski has sparked outrage after he mocked a story regarding a 10-year-old disabled illegal immigrant girl who was separated from her mom at the border.
His comments come just a day after Fox News host Laura Inragham called the children detention centers 'essentially summer camps'.
Donald Trump's former campaign chief rolled his eyes and said 'Womp, womp' when Democratic strategist Zac Petkanas shared the horrific story on Tuesday.
'I read today about a 10-year-old girl with Down syndrome who was taken from her mother and put in a cage…' Petkanas began.
But before he could finish, Lewandowski merely replied: 'Womp, womp'.
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It has been a second night of controversy for Fox News after Corey Lewandowski mocked a story regarding a 10-year-old disabled girl being separated from her mom while on-air
Donald Trump's former campaign chief rolled his eyes and said 'Womp, womp' when Democratic strategist Zac Petkanas shared the horrific story on Tuesday
'Did you just say "Womp, womp" to a 10-year-old girl with down syndrome being separated from her mother?; Petkanas asked, clearly disgusted.
'How dare you, how absolutely dare you sir, how dare you...'
Lewandowski tried to talk over Petkanas, saying: 'What I said is you can pick anything you want, the bottom line is clear.'
The clip was quickly shared on Twitter by multiple outlets, and many high-profile figures didn't hold back to share their anger with the Fox News commentator.
Dem strategist Zac Petkanas: “I read today about a 10-year-old girl with Down Syndrome who was taken from her mother and put in a cage…”
Trump’s former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski: (Rolls eyes) “Womp womp.” pic.twitter.com/tWxFGTjJEX — Axios (@axios) June 20, 2018
'Did you just say "Womp, womp" to a 10-year-old girl with down syndrome being separated from her mother?; Petkanas asked, clearly disgusted
'There is no low to which this coward Corey Lewandowski won't sink,' Megyn Kelly tweeted.
'This man should not be afforded a national platform to spew his hate.'
Meghan McCain called the clip 'so horrible, even by Lewandowski standards'.
Columnist John Podhoretz wrote: 'Womp womp will be the sound Corey Lewandowski's soul makes as it descends to Hell.'
'I hope there is a hell just for Corey Lewandowski,' added Julia Wick.
Actress Mary McCormack also chimed in, asking: 'What have we become?'
'Corey Lewandowski MOCKED a ten yr. old with Down Syndrome who was taken from her mother,' she wrote.
The clip was quickly shared on Twitter by multiple outlets, and many high-profile figures didn't hold back to share their anger - including former Fox News host Megyn Kelly
John McCain's daughter Meghan also chimed in, saying the clip was 'so horrible, even by Lewandowski standards'
Actress Anna Kendrick was among one of the big names that publicly hit out at Lewandowski
Thousands of people took to the streets across America on Tuesday, including outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in San Francisco, to protest family separations
Demonstrators in New York call for an end the family separations at the US-Mexico border
Americans, church figures and politicians from both sides of the aisle had lined up to criticize Trump for his border security policies
The Trump administration has been accused of using children as political pawns in its attempts to negotiate on border security
'Talk about a special place in hell. Where is the @gop? Retweet this until they're forced to look at themselves.'
'Corey Lewandowski is simply doing as our president does: making fun of those who can't defend themselves,' added Nick Campanella.
'This is the result of "It was just a joke." And I'm sure this is too. And I'm sure Republicans will defend this. And I'm sure nothing will happen.'
Ingraham was also criticized this week after she called immigration detention centers for children 'essentially summer camps'.
The Fox News host was discussing Donald Trump's policy to separate immigrant children from their parents when she made the controversial comment on Monday.
'As more illegal immigrants are rushing the border, more kids are being separated from their parents,' she said on The Ingraham Angle.
'And temporarily housed at what are, essentially, summer camps.'
Ingraham's words horrified many after pictures were released showing immigrant children lined up in a series of cages created by metal fencing at detention centers.
The host then tried to backtrack on those statements towards the end of the show, responding to the backlash on social media in real time.
Twitter quickly filled with outrage as many expressed their disgust at Lewnadowski
'Apparently there are a lot of people very upset because we referred to some of the detention facilities tonight as essentially like summer camps,' said Ingraham.
'The San Diego Union Tribune today described the facilities as essentially like what you would expect at a boarding school. So I will stick to there are some of them like boarding schools.'
Fox News has since released a separate statement regarding the controversy, saying Ingraham's 'very personal, on-the-ground commitment to the plight of impoverished and abandoned children speaks for itself'.
'So too does her strong belief in a commonsense, legal immigration system, which will continue to be a focus of her show,' she added.
Laura Ingraham has come under fire after calling immigration detention centers for children 'essentially summer camps'
The inside of a dormitory at the Tornillo facility, a shelter for children of detained migrants, is seen in this photo provided by the US Department of Health and Human Services, in Texas
A Mission Police Deptartment officer, and a US Border Patrol agent watch over a group of Central American asylum seekers before taking them into custody in McAllen, Texas
'FOX News will never tolerate or give in to attempts to silence diverse viewpoints by agenda-driven intimidation efforts.'
Many on Twitter expressed outrage at Ingraham's claims, including Parkland survivor Dave Hogg - a frequent critic of the Fox News host.
'Laura Ingraham, like Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity, would happily defend genocide if the Trump administration asked them to do so,' he wrote.
Author Anthony Breznican joked: 'Laura Ingraham isn't going to hell. She's going to an 'intense sauna''.
Many commenters expressed confusion at Ingraham's vision for summer camps.
Many on Twitter expressed outrage at Ingraham's claims, including Parkland survivor Dave Hogg - a frequent critic of the Fox News host
'Ah yes, who else remembers singing kum ba yah, roasting marshmallows, cage living, and a friendly game of let's never see your mommy and daddy again,' wrote Danny Deraney.
Another joked about what a summer camp would look like if it was run by Ingraham.
'Your child will learn how to properly fold a foil emergency blanket and how to decorate the inside of a cage,' JD Durkin quipped.
'Sign up now for a special lesson in basketball dribbling and mocking school shooting survivors. Act fast,' he added, quoting Ingraham's recent controversies with Hogg and NBA star Lebron James.
Others called on the public to boycott Ingraham, while some challenged the Fox News host to send her own children to the detention centers.
The audio was released just a day after it was revealed border agents have been telling illegal immigrant parents that they are taking their children 'for a bath' before separating them
Anne Chandler, the director of the Houston office of Tahirih Justice Center said she's spoken with several parents who said they were told their children were going to get a bath before they were separated
A two-year-old Honduran cries as her mother is searched and detained near the US-Mexico border on June 12. She had illegally crossed the Rio Grande on a raft to reach Texas
In May, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a 'zero tolerance' policy in which all those apprehended entering the US illegally, including those seeking asylum, would be criminally charged, which generally leads to children being separated from their parents.
On Friday, it was revealed that nearly 2,000 children were separated from adults at the border between mid-April and the end of May.
Those children are now living in detention centers along the US-Mexico border.
Trump's policy has drawn condemnation from medical professionals, religious leaders, and immigration activists, who warn that some children could suffer lasting psychological trauma.
It has since been revealed that Trump administration officials are sending babies and other young children forcibly separated from their parents to at least three 'tender age' shelters in South Texas.
Lawyers and medical providers who have visited the Rio Grande Valley shelters described play rooms of crying preschool-age children in crisis.
The government also plans to open a fourth shelter to house hundreds of young migrant children in Houston, where city leaders denounced the move Tuesday.
Meanwhile, NBC has reported that a new desert tent city is reportedly preparing for more than 4,000 children and plans to house 20 to a tent.
Corey Lewandowski, President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager, appeared to mock an anecdote about a migrant 10-year-old girl with Down Syndrome who was reportedly separated from her family at the US-Mexico border.
The exchange happened during a discussion on Fox News about the Trump administration’s “zero-tolerance” border policy.
In recent days, the administration has faced growing bipartisan criticism over the policy, in which migrants are being referred for criminal prosecution when they cross the US border illegally, which leads to children being separated from the adults they’re traveling with.
The ensuing controversy surrounding the Trump administration’s enforcement of its “zero-tolerance” policy devolved into a shouting match during a Fox News segment on Tuesday.
“Look, I read today about a 10-year-old girl with Down Syndrome who was taken from her mother and put in a cage,” Zac Petkanas, a former Hillary Clinton campaign aide, said.
“Womp-womp,” Corey Lewandowski, President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager, said mockingly.
“Did you just say ‘womp-womp’ to a 10-year-old girl with Down Syndrome being taken from her mother,” Petkanas asked.
The conversation quickly went off the rails as the two tumbled into a shouting match.
“What I said is that you can pick anything you want, but the bottom line is very clear,” Lewandowski said. “When you cross the border illegally, you have given up the right …”
“How dare you, how absolutely dare you, sir,” Petkanas said.
Petkanas was apparently referring to a Wall Street Journal report that mentioned a girl who was separated from her mother and brother as they attempted to cross the US-Mexico border. The girl and mother were sent to different detention facilities, according to the report.
In recent days, the Trump administration faced growing bipartisan criticism over its enforcement of a “zero-tolerance” policy which refers migrants who have entered the US illegally for criminal prosecution. The move invariably leads to children being separated from the adults they’re traveling with.
Watch the clip here:
Washington (CNN) Corey Lewandowski dismissed the story of a 10-year-old girl with Down syndrome who was reportedly separated from her mother after crossing the border illegally.
While appearing Tuesday on Fox News, former senior Democratic National Committee adviser Zac Petkanas shared an anecdote he had read about "a 10-year-old girl with Down syndrome" who had been "taken from her mother and put in a cage."
"Womp womp," the former Trump campaign manager responded.
.@Zac_Petkanas says on Fox News a 10-year-old girl with Down Syndrome was separated from her mother at the border.
Corey Lewandowski responds: "Womp womp." pic.twitter.com/cZMXWmwbjw — Jon Passantino (@passantino) June 19, 2018
On Tuesday , Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray shared the 10-year-old girl's story, calling it "particularly painful." Videgaray said the girl and her brother were sent to a US facility in McAllen, Texas, while her mother went to one an hour away in Brownsville.
"The Mexican government in no way promotes illegal migration," Videgaray told reporters at a Mexico City news conference. "However, according to our constitutional principles and our convictions, we cannot be indifferent before an act that clearly represents a violation of human rights and that puts into a vulnerable position minors, children, including those with disabilities."
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Trump's former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, has no heart.
Democratic strategist Zac Petkanas and Trump's former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski went head-to-head on Fox News on Tuesday evening after Lewandowski mocked a 10-year-old-girl with Down syndrome who was separated from her mother at the border. Her father is a U.S. citizen.
"I read about a 10-year-old girl with Down syndrome who is taken from her mother and put in a cage," Petkanas said.
"Womp womp," Lewandowski interrupted, as if he just learned someone's ice cream fell off their cone, splattering on the ground.
Dem strategist Zac Petkanas: “I read today about a 10-year-old girl with Down Syndrome who was taken from her mother and put in a cage…”
Trump’s former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski: (Rolls eyes) “Womp womp.” pic.twitter.com/tWxFGTjJEX — Axios (@axios) June 20, 2018
"How dare you? How dare you?" Petkanas exploded. "... We have infants that are being taken from their mothers and put into cages."
The two continued to yell over each other before host Sandra Smith was able to briefly settle them down.
"There is a reason why 12 Republican senators sent a letter begging this administration to reverse this policy," Petkanas rebutted. "There is a reason why the governor of New York is suing this administration to stop this policy. This policy is abhorrent. It is offensive to all moral people."
Lewandowski attempted to falsely blame the Obama Administration for enacting the policy, which is not true. Under the Obama Administration, children that crossed the border with their parents were usually allowed to stay with one parent. Trump's new policy is to separate those children from their family at the border as the adults are criminally prosecuted. The Trump administration also ended an Obama program last year that gave families more freedom pending deportation hearings.
This isn't about left or right, what's happening at the border is inhumane. And Petkanas is right.
How dare you?
