GOP senator dismisses family separation as 'shiny object of the day'
Republican Sen. David Perdue says the thousands of children taken from their families in recent weeks are just a distraction from more important issues.
Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) dismissed the national outcry over the Trump administration’s decision to take children from their families at the border.
Instead of expressing or even feigning concern, Perdue said the national story is simply the “shiny object of the day.”
The comments came during a press conference with other senators to discuss a planned cut to spending. But reporters didn’t want to ask about spending cuts.
Instead, they asked the senators about the children being held in cages as a result of the Trump administration’s cruel new “zero tolerance” policy.
In response, Perdue lashed out and insisted that debt is the “number one topic,” and lamented that the press conference had been “hijacked” by the “current shiny object of the day.”
At least 2,000 children have been taken away from their families in the last 6 weeks alone. Their families probably do not view them simply as shiny objects, nor do the millions of Americans outraged by their detention and treatment.
Perdue is a staunch Trump ally and has voted with him 94.4 percent of the time.
He is also a Trump apologist. He recently argued on the floor of the Senate that Trump’s approach to government “is working” and that he is “tired of senators trying to undercut him at every turn.”
The family separation crisis is stark evidence that Trump’s policies are not working and are actively harmful to thousands of people.
Pointing out a crisis as it unfolds and demanding elected officials respond to it is not the equivalent of being distracted by a shiny object.
Perdue doesn’t want to have to publicly clean up Trump’s messes, even as he has continued to make excuses for them. That’s why he minimized and dismissed such an important issue.
But as horrifying reports continue to emerge, and Trump refuses to cease this practice immediately, Perdue and his fellow Republicans are likely to face many more questions they won’t be able to shrug off as mere distractions.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
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