Corey Lewandowski sparks outrage with "womp womp" comment on a story about a 10-year-old girl with Down Syndrome
Corey Lewandowski has come under fire after he mocked a story about a 10-year-old girl with Down Syndrome who was separated from her mother at the U.S.-Mexico border. Corey, a former campaign manager for Donald Trump, was on a show to have a debate with Democratic strategist Zac Petkanas about President Donald Trump's latest family separation policy. During the debate, Zac was narrating a story about the 10-year-old girl who was separated by her mother due to the policy. Zac was describing how the 10-year-old had been “taken from her mother and put in a cage.”
However, before he could complete the story Corey interrupted him by saying, “Womp, womp.” Zac was astonished to see the reaction Corey had. “Did you just say ‘womp, womp’ to a 10-year-old with Down syndrome separated from her mother?” he responded, as reported by Huffington Post. “How dare you. How dare you.” Corey tried to defend what he said by saying, "What I said is you can pick anything you want, the bottom line is clear."
The clip was quickly shared on social media and people grew furious to hear such words coming from someone who was in the administration. "This is where we are right now. Corey Lewandowski, Trump's campaign manager. literally says "Womp Womp" when it is mentioned that a young child with Down Syndrome was separated from her mother at the American border. It's one of the most inhumane moments I've ever seen," one user commented.
The girl’s story was originally shared by Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray, who called the ordeal “particularly painful.” The girl and her brother were sent to a U.S. detention facility in McAllen, Texas, while their mother was sent an hour away to Brownsville, Videgaray added.
Others said people like Corey were the reason many families have been broken. "Corey Lewandowski is a depraved individual for saying “womp womp” about a 10-year-old girl with Down syndrome being ripped from her mother. But the most depraved individuals aren’t the ones saying womp womp on TV. They’re the ones actually doing the ripping and the kidnapping," the comment read.
While another added, "Listening to Corey Lewandowski, who assaulted a female reporter, mock a 10-year-old with Down syndrome being torn from her family, I find myself thinking the only difference between these people and the worst regimes of the 20th century is what they can do, not what they would do." Meanwhile, there were others who were shocked to see what the country was becoming.
"Oh my lord. What have we become? Corey Lewandowski MOCKED a ten yr. old with Down Syndrome who was taken from her mother. Talk about a special place in hell," the tweet read.
"Now is the best opportunity ever for Congress to change the ridiculous and obsolete laws on immigration," Trump said in a tweet. "Get it done, always keeping in mind that we must have strong border security."
Trump's take on illegal immigration has sparked an emotional debate about how families would be divided. Trump on Tuesday repeated his claim that Democrats were responsible for the separation of parents from children consistent with the "zero-tolerance" policy that Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced earlier this year.
Nearly 2,000 children were separated from their families over a six-week period in April and May after Attorney General Sessions announced a new “zero-tolerance” policy that refers all cases of illegal entry for criminal prosecution. U.S. protocol prohibits detaining children with their parents because the children are not charged with a crime and the parents are.
"Democrats are the problem," Trump tweeted on Tuesday. "They don't care about crime and want illegal immigrants, no matter how bad they may be, to pour into and infest our Country, like MS-13. They can't win on their terrible policies, so they view them as potential voters!"
"If you don't have Borders, you don't have a Country!" he continued tweeting on Tuesday. Trump's remarks come days before lawmakers will vote on a pair of Republican bills meant to address the uncertain legal status of "dreamers" - young undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S.
Even those who have earlier worked with President Donald Trump have expressed their fears regarding his decision. PBS quotes former Trump adviser Anthony Scaramucci as saying that the child separation interview could be dangerous for Trump. He said the president “should be immediately fixing this problem.”
“This is a fuse that has been lit,” he said. “The president is going to get hurt by this issue if it stays out there very, very long.”
Long-time ally Rev. Franklin Graham, called the policy “disgraceful.” Several religious groups, including some conservative ones, have pushed to stop the practice of separating immigrant children from their parents.