Separated: Inside an American Tragedy

by Jacob Soboroff

Distracted, the president brought up family separations. “Kirstjen, we’re going to have to reinstitute that,” Trump declared while tornado victims awaited him “with open arms and raised cell phones” on the ground, as NBC affiliate KPLC reported. “Sir,” Nielsen began, “I’m not sure I can reinstitute this on my own,” she said, attempting to end the conversation. It wasn’t the first occasion the president had brought up restarting family separations since he was forced to end them—and it wouldn’t be the last. But this time, the conversation was put to bed not by the president, nor either cabinet secretary on board his chopper. “We can’t do that. We can’t do that,” Melania Trump cut in, curtailing any debate. It wasn’t the first time the first lady voiced her opposition to family separations. In June 2018, at the height of the outrage over the policy, her spokeswoman said “Mrs. Trump hates to see children separated from their families” and that “she believes we need to be a country that follows all laws, but also a country that governs with heart.” Trump, frustrated, rolled his eyes at the interjection by the sneaker-and-peacoat-clad First Lady, but did not argue back. Instead, the president sighed. “We’ll see. We’ll see,” he said. The following morning, the border numbers were still on President Trump’s mind. From Mar-a-Lago, he turned to Twitter. “Border Patrol and Law Enforcement has apprehended (captured) large numbers of illegal immigrants at the Border,” Trump wrote. “Th...