President Donald Trump hijacked his own press conference Tuesday to publicly interrogate construction workers at the White House about their immigration status.
The president was fielding questions about his mass deportation campaign outside the White House when he abruptly pivoted to the hard hat-wearing workers installing new flagpoles in the Rose Garden behind him. The men were visibly uncomfortable as Trump put them on the spot about whether "any illegal immigrants" were among their ranks.
"We're taking them out by the thousands. Murderers, drug dealers, people that are mentally insane, from insane asylums," Trump had just finished saying about his deportation efforts when his attention drifted to the workers.
"Do we have anybody here who's a member of—no, I don't think so. You've known these people for a long time?" he asked. "Any illegal immigrants?"
The workers, their faces stone-cold, shoot their heads in response to the president's questioning. But Trump wasn't done.
"If there were, we'll find out," he warned ominously, drawing nervous laughter from the men. "Your whole life will be destroyed because of this press conference. They'll destroy these people," referring to investigations he predicted would come from the media.
"I didn't want to tell them that before they stood up."
"Don't worry, I think you're gonna be OK," Trump finally offered.