CNN anchor Kasie Hunt was stunned by Trump border czar Tom Homan’s “extreme” language on immigration enforcement, exclaiming “OOF!” after playing some of his comments.
Days after his victory over Vice President Kamala Harris, President-elect Donald Trump tapped Homan to be the border czar. Just as quickly, Homan began issuing hardline soundbites about the mass deportations to come. Homan has not let up on the hard-line rhetoric since the election.
On Wednesday’s edition of CNN This Morning, Hunt zeroed in on Homan’s “extreme” language around hunting down or jailing people who “harbor” migrants, saying it’s a contrast from “what we heard from the Trump campaign on the trail”:
TOM HOMAN: Be clear, there is going to be a mass deportation because we just finished a mass illegal immigration crisis on the border. It’s a felony to knowingly harbor concealed illegal aliens from immigration authorities. Don’t test us!
KASIE HUNT: President elect Donald Trump’s new border czar Tom Homan laying out his day one plans for the new administration.
Homan traveled to Texas on Tuesday, meeting with Governor Greg Abbott and delivering a message to Texas National Guard members. Texas government leaders are moving to get more aggressive on immigration.
In recent days, they have ordered more barrier buoys onto the Rio Grande River, like the ones seen last year.
The Biden administration had sued to get those barriers removed. Not every local leader is signing up for the promises of cracking down on migrants. Denver’s mayor says his city would resist extreme measures, drawing the ire of Tom Homan this week.
MAYOR MIKE JOHNSON: If they want to focus on violent criminals, we would be happy to help support pursuing, arresting and deporting them if they are going to send the US Army or the Navy SEALs into Denver to pursue folks to pull them off the job at hotels and restaurants where they’re working or pull kids off the soccer field. I think we will see Denverites and folks around the country who will nonviolently resistant.
TOM HOMAN: Me and the Denver mayor. We agree on one thing. He’s willing to go to jail. I’m willing to put him in jail.
KASIE HUNT: OOF! Mike Dubke,. I mean, look, it’s very clear the country is very unhappy with the way immigration has been playing out. They’re concerned about the security at the border.
Where do you think the Trump administration and how can they stay or can they stay with Americans on that without–.
I mean, some of the measures they’re talking about, I mean, that language of like, if you harbor somebody, we will find you. You know, if if the Denver mayor wants to go to jail, I mean, that has some significant and more extreme echoes than some of what we heard from the Trump campaign on the trail.
MIKE DUBKE: There are several stages to it to kind of arresting–. And I should I should choose a different word, but arresting immigration at the border.
One of which that worked incredibly well in the early days of the first Trump administration was the rhetoric. And this is going to be my theme, I think, for today was the rhetoric around the border. So, Tom Homan’s, very strong language is going to restrict and impede the number of people that are actually flooding the border.
KASIE HUNT: You’re saying it’s going to discourage people from driving.
MIKE DUBKE: Totally discourage that.
Watch above via CNN This Morning.
