US President Donald Trump hugged Patty Morin, the grieving mother of Rachel Morin, during an emotional moment at the White House on Wednesday, reports the Daily Mail.
“She’s been through hell,” Trump said, as he held her in the Oval Office.
Rachel Morin, a mother of five from Maryland, was raped and murdered while hiking. Her killer, Victor Martinez-Hernandez, a fugitive from El Salvador, was later convicted of the crime.
Trump invited Morin to the White House as part of his push to defend strict deportation policies. Comforting her during the meeting, he told her, “Your daughter is looking down proud of you, you know that… she’s proud of you.”
The appearance came just hours after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt slammed Democratic senator Chris Van Hollen for flying to El Salvador to visit Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia. Garcia, a Maryland man and father of three, was deported in March — a move Van Hollen claims was mistaken. However, the Trump administration insists Garcia is tied to a violent gang.
“Maryland Democrat Senator Chris Van Hollen rushed to Dulles Airport this morning to fly to El Salvador, potentially using taxpayer dollars to demand the release of deported illegal alien, MS-13 terrorist,” Leavitt told reporters, calling the trip “appalling and sad.”
Leavitt then brought out Patty Morin as a “special guest” to make her voice heard.
Morin then criticised Van Hollen, saying that the Maryland senator “barely acknowledged” the death of her daughter.
“The senator from Maryland who didn’t even acknowledge — or barely acknowledged — my daughter and the brutal death that she endured, leaving her five children without a mother, chose to use my tax money to fly to El Salvador to bring back a person who isn’t even an American citizen,” she said.
Furthermore, Morin said that President Trump wants to remove criminals from the country, and as American citizens, it is their duty to do the same.
“These are the kind of criminals President Trump wants to remove from our country. These are the kind of criminals that we need to remove from our country. We are American citizens. Why should we allow people like this, violent criminals that have no conscience at all to murder our mothers, our sisters, our daughters? I don’t understand,” said Morin.
