Trump: NYC suspect ‘animal’ — tougher immigration, terror laws needed

WASHINGTON— President Donald Trump on Wednesday denounced the suspect in the New York truck attack as an “animal” and the nation’s punishment for terrorism as “a joke” and “a laughing stock.”

Speaking during a Cabinet meeting, the president said the attack that left eight people dead and 11 wounded underscores the need for tougher immigration laws and “much quicker and much stronger” punishments for terrorists.

The president specifically called for immigration measures based on skills and other merit rather than a lottery now in place. He was less specific on how he wants to change the criminal justice system.

“That was a horrible event, and we have to stop it, and we have to stop it cold,” the president said. “We also have to come up with punishment that’s far quicker and far greater than the punishment these animals are getting right now. They’ll go through court for years. And at the end, they’ll be — who knows what happens.

“We need quick justice and we need strong justice — much quicker and much stronger than we have right now. Because what we have right now is a joke and it’s a laughingstock. And no wonder so much of this stuff takes place.”

Trump says he would consider sending the suspect to the prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

“I would certainly consider that,” Trump said, responding to a reporter’s question. “Send him to Gitmo.”

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders later suggested the president was not proposing specific changes to the criminal justice system, but rather complaining about its slow pace.

“I believe he was voicing his frustration with the lengthy process that often comes with a case like this,” she said. “So I think that was simply the point he was making.”

But Sanders said the Trump Administration does consider the truck driver who mowed down and killed people on a New York bike path to be an “enemy combatant,” and Trump is open to sending him to the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Sanders said the actions of the attacker justify the enemy combatant label. She said Trump isn’t calling on the attacker to be moved to Guantanamo Bay but “certainly would support it if he felt like that was the best move.”

On immigration, Trump noted during the Cabinet meeting that the driver in Tuesday’s attack entered the country through the “Diversity Visa Lottery Program” and called on Congress to “immediately” begin working to eliminate the program, which applies to countries with low rates of immigration to the U.S.

“We have to get much tougher,” Trump said. “We have to get much smarter. And we have to get much less politically correct. We’re so politically correct that we’re afraid to do anything. And that’s not only our country, that’s other countries too that are having very similar problems.

“And we have to get tough, we have to get smart, we have to do what’s right to protect our citizens. We will never waver in the defense of our beloved country — ever. And we’ll never, ever forget the beautiful lives that have been taken from us.”

Earlier Wednesday, Trump called the visa program “a Chuck Schumer beauty” — a reference to the Senate’s Democratic leader.

Schumer fired back from the Senate floor, accusing Trump of “politicizing” the tragedy.

Officials said the attacker is an immigrant from Uzbekistan. Department of Homeland Security spokesman Tyler Houlton said he entered the United States legally under the diversity visa program in 2010.

Trump has backed legislation that would curb legal immigration and shift the nation toward a system that would place an emphasis on merit and skills over family ties.

The comments followed Trump’s Tuesday night statement that he had ordered DHS “to step up our already Extreme Vetting Program.” Trump’s policy entails more stringent investigative measures intended to identify would-be immigrants who may sympathize with extremists or pose a national security risk to the United States.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump proposed a total ban on Muslim immigration to the U.S. before embracing “extreme vetting.” Trump’s efforts to block immigrants from several Muslim-majority countries have been tied up in federal courts.

The diversity visa program provides up to 50,000 visas annually by lottery. Applicants must have a high school diploma or meet work experience requirements. It was created as part of a bipartisan immigration bill introduced by the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., and signed into law by Republican President George H.W. Bush in 1990.

Schumer, a New York Democrat who was a member of the House of Representatives at the time, proposed a program for “diversity immigrants” in a bill he offered earlier that year.

Speaking on the Senate floor Wednesday, Schumer said he has “always believed that immigration is good for America.” He also criticized Trump for “politicizing” the deadly attack, comparing his response to President George. W. Bush’s after 9/11.

“President Trump, where is your leadership?” Schumer asked. “The contrast between President Bush’s actions after 9/11 and President Trump’s actions this morning could not be starker.”

He said Trump actually had proposed cutting anti-terrorism funding in his most recent budget.

“I’m calling on President Trump to rescind his proposed cuts to this vital anti-terrorism funding immediately,” Schumer said.

When reporters asked Sanders about Trump’s critical tweets about Schumer, the White House press secretary said the Republican president “has not blamed” the New York Democrat and “doesn’t feel that the senator is responsible for the attack.”

Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., said on Twitter that Trump was unfairly blaming Schumer for the diversity visa program. Flake, one of Trump’s chief Republican foes in Congress, said Schumer was among a group of eight Republican and Democratic senators who proposed eliminating the program three years ago as part of a broader bipartisan bill to overhaul U.S. immigration laws.

Flake, who served on that “Gang of Eight” with Schumer, said: “I know. I was there.”

The immigration bill ultimately failed in the GOP-led House after passing the Senate in June 2013, 68-32, with 14 Republicans joining Democrats.

Flake recently announced he’s not running for re-election but says he won’t be silent about Trump’s politics and behavior.

Contributing: Chicago Sun-Times staff