Oakland mayor says Trump was 'racist' to call MS-13 gang members 'animals

The California mayor who tipped off illegal aliens to help them escape ICE raids said that President Trump was "racist" to call violent gang members "animals," and even referred to them as "vulnerable."

Here's what she said

In an interview with Erin Burnett on CNN, Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf derided the president for calling MS-14 gang members "animals."

"I have to ask you about something else the president has said," Burnett said towards the end of the interview. "This is a controversial thing, he's come under criticism for it, but he's owning it. Calling members of the violent MS-13 gang 'animals.' Today the White House tripled down on that, they actually put out a press release and they titled it 'What You Need To Know About The Violent Animals of MS-13.'"

"The president has repeatedly stood by those words," she added. "You obviously have seen this. Is that a fair use of the word?"

"I believe that this president's language is racist," Mayor Schaaf answered.

"It is fear-mongering and it is trying to distract the American people from the job that elected officials are supposed to do," she added. "And that's improve the lives of the people that we're supposed to represent, instead of casting blame and dispersion against a very vulnerable population."

"That's what we're doing here in Oakland," she continued. "Oakland is a very proud, diverse, sanctuary city. Our crime has gone down over the last few years. We are working on safety by lifting up our children and getting them college degrees, that's the work that politicians should be doing, not trying to blame others for their own failings."

Here's the video of Mayor Schaaf's comments:

President Trump was criticized roundly in the media for his comments about MS-13 gang members, but many news outlets corrected their stories after it was pointed out by many of his allies that they were misrepresenting his comments to apply to all illegal aliens.

Mayor Schaaf came under fire from the White House after it was reported that she had tipped off illegal aliens about enforcement action from federal immigration officials in order to help them escape detection. Trump told Attorney General Sessions that he should investigate her actions as a possible violation of the law.