Donald Trump defends remarks about Mexican government sending drug-smuggling rapists across the border

He was asked, repeatedly, to provide evidence to back up this claim, but declined, repeatedly, to present it

Published August 7, 2015 4:02AM (EDT)

Donald Trump was asked to defend his statement about Mexicans being drug-smuggling rapists and murders.

Chris Wallace reminded Trump that he's said "the Mexican government is sending rapists, drug dealers, and criminals across the border," and noted that Jeb Bush has called those remarks "extraordinarily ugly." He asked Trump to defend those remarks to Bush, who was standing right next to him, as well as reveal the "secret" evidence he has that the Mexican government is complicit in sending criminals across the border.

"If it weren't for me, you wouldn't even be talking about illegal immigration, Chris," he said. "This was not a subject that was on anybody's mind until I brought it up at my announcement."

"But reporters, who are a very dishonest lot, generally speaking, they didn't cover my statement the way I said it," Trump continued. "The fact is, since then, many killings, murders, crimes, money going out, drugs coming in -- and I said, 'We need to build a wall.' And it has to be built quickly."

"I don't mind having a big beautiful door in that wall so that people can come in legally, but we need Jeb to build a wall to keep illegals out."

Wallace responded to Trump's non-answer by giving him another 30 seconds to present his evidence that the Mexican government is complicit, but all Trump would say is that border patrol people have told him things, and that the Mexican government is "smarter and sharper" than the American.

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By Scott Eric Kaufman

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