Trump jokes about immigration status of flagpole workers at White House: ‘Any illegal immigrants?'
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday brought his hardline immigration rhetoric directly to the White House lawn, jokingly questioning construction workers who had just installed two towering flagpoles about whether any of them were undocumented immigrants.
During a press conference at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Trump was asked about his administration's deportation efforts. In response, he said: 'We're taking them out by the thousands. Murderers, drug dealers, people that are mentally insane, from insane asylums.'
He then turned to the group of hat-wearing workers standing behind him.
'Do we have anybody here who's a member of — no, I don't think so. You've known these people for a long time?' Trump said before asking, 'Any illegal immigrants?'
When the workers shook their heads, some smiling awkwardly, Trump added: 'If there were, we'll find out.'
'Your whole life will be destroyed because of this press conference. They'll destroy these people. I didn't want to tell them that before they stood up,' he said with a smirk, before reassuring them, 'Don't worry, I think you're gonna be OK.'
The remarks came after the workers erected two massive 88-foot-tall flagpoles — one on the North Lawn and another on the South Lawn — at Trump's request.
On Tuesday, Trump announced the project on social media, calling the new installations 'a gift from me to the White House.'
'These are the most magnificent poles made – They are tall, tapered, rust proof, rope inside the pole, and of the highest quality,' Trump wrote, adding that the White House 'was always missing' such flagpoles.
Trump's quip came amid a broader push by his administration to ramp up immigration enforcement. Over the weekend, the president directed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to escalate operations.
'In order to achieve this, we must expand efforts to detain and deport Illegal Aliens in America's largest cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, where Millions upon Millions of Illegal Aliens reside,' he posted online.
Trump has vowed to launch the largest deportation effort in US history if re-elected, part of his 2025 immigration agenda that includes mass raids and expanded detention.
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