Trump Confused

Elderly Donald Trump was repeatedly confused when interviewed by Terry Moran of ABC News about whether Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, who was deported without due process by Trump to El Salvador, had “MS13” – representing the MS-13 gang – tattooed on his knuckles.  Trump does not understand that the image was photoshopped to include M-S-1-3.

The image shows a left hand with four tattoos, one on each finger: a marijuana leaf, a smiley face with the letter X for eyes, a cross, and a skull. A Trump offical photoshopped “M”, “S”, “1”, and a “3” in a printed font above these tattoos.

As for the pictorial tattoos on Abrego Garcia’s hand, marijuana leaves, crosses and skulls are widely used by people who do not belong to gangs.

Gang crime experts said they did not stand out to them as MS-13 markers. MS-13 experts state that none of the pictorial tattoos in the photograph is a known signifier of MS-13.

Trump still insisted Abrego Garcia’s hand says “MS13”.

Of course, that is not the point. All the men were deported without due process. The Trump Administration did not present any evidence of gang membership before a judge in the deportation case. The asylum seekers or migrants were not given the opportunity to defend themselves.

The New York Times reported that most of the 238 men deported to El Salvador have neither criminal records in the US nor documented links to a Venezuelan prison gang.