President Donald Trump met with El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele at the White House on Monday. During the meeting, tensions rose when Trump, Bukele, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and adviser Stephen Miller criticized CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins.
Bukele refused to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident, to the U.S., despite a Supreme Court ruling. He dismissed Collins’ questions, calling them “absurd,” and insisted he has no authority to release García from prison.
Rubio backed Bukele, saying the U.S. president—not the courts—sets foreign policy. He stressed that Abrego Garcia was a Salvadoran citizen who had been returned legally and that there was no confusion about that.
When Collins pressed further, Trump snapped, accusing her of asking the same question repeatedly. “Why can’t you just say we’re keeping criminals out of our country?” he said, adding, “That’s why nobody watches you.”
CONTINUE READING transcript of Trump’s remarks:
