Donald Trump’s interview with ABC News’ Terry Moran featured a bonkers moment on Tuesday when the president appeared to suggest that an edited photo depicting tattoos of Kilmar Abrego Garcia was the real deal.
Trump — in an interview marking the 100th day of his second term — told Moran that Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man deported to a Salvadoran prison, had MS-13 “tattooed” on his knuckles in a printed picture he shared from the Oval Office earlier this month.
“It says ‘MS-13,’” Trump asserted.
“That was Photoshop, so let me just —,” Moran said.
“That was Photoshop? Terry, you can’t do that,” replied Trump, who went on to argue that MS-13 is as “clear as you can be” on Abrego Garcia.
The photo shows the text symbols “M,” “S,” “1” and “3″ digitally added above tattoos of a marijuana leaf, a smiley face, a cross and a skull, respectively.
Moments earlier, Moran swiftly hit back at Trump’s claim about Abrego Garcia, whose family and attorneys have denied that he’s a gang member.
“He had MS-13 on his knuckles, tattooed,” Trump said.
“He had some tattoos interpreted that way. But let’s move on,” Moran said.
“Wait a minute. Hey, Terry, Terry, Terry. Don’t do that,” replied Trump before Moran continued.
“He did not have the letter, ‘M,’ ‘S,’ ‘1,’ ‘3,’” Moran noted.
It’s not entirely clear if Trump meant that “MS-13” was literally tattooed on Abrego Garcia’s knuckles, or if the images simply represented “MS-13.”
The photo has led to mixed analysis with some believing that the Trump administration intended for the text symbols to be a legend of sorts for the tattoos.
Others have suggested that Trump officials intended to deceive Americans into thinking the text symbols were actually on Abrego Garcia’s knuckles.
The Trump administration, which has been ordered by the Supreme Court to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return to the United States, has continued to justify its actions toward the Maryland father of three with claims that he’s connected to the gang.
Trump — when asked by Moran how his administration is complying with the SCOTUS decision — noted that he “could” comply with the court order before suggesting that if Abrego Garcia was more of a “gentleman,” he would follow through with such a move.