As we indicated when covering Alex Thompson’s speech at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, it wasn’t just the media’s willful concealment of President Joe Biden’s severe cognitive decline that undermined trust in the media, but the sum total of hoaxes spread, encouraged, and abetted. Based on the latest faux immigration scandal, it appears that ABC News is adamant on refusing to learn that lesson.
Watch as Senior Political Correspondent Rachel Scott continues to spread the debunked “Deported Citizen Babies” Hoax:
RACHEL SCOTT: On immigration, the other major issue in the November election, President Trump getting his highest marks. But they come with new questions tonight. 46% of Americans approve of his immigration policies. But 48% say his actions deporting undocumented migrants have gone too far. Tonight, The White House defending how they've handled mass deportations after three children who are U.S. citizens, ages 2, 4 and 7, were deported to Honduras, along with their mothers, after routine checks by ICE. The president's border czar, Tom Homan, claiming the presidents were given a choice.
TOM HOMAN: What we did is remove children with their mothers, who requested their children depart with them. This is a parental decision. Parenting 101. Having a U.S. citizen child, does that make you immune from our law?
You’ll recall that the Sunday shows tried to make this stick, and got wrecked for their efforts. Now? Only ABC and Rachel Scott are intent on keeping the hoax alive. But as their own analyst indicated yesterday:
SARAH ISGUR: Often times, it’s going to look more like a custody dispute than an immigration question.
ABC, hellbent on remaining the most Trump-hostile of the legacy networks, insists on pushing the hoax upon its viewers. The other networks, however, played it safe with their language.
NBC, for example, went a more cautious route, mirroring the “removed” language used by Border Czar Tom Homan in reference to the citizen children:
LESTER HOLT: And on border security and immigration, a signature issue for President Trump, our poll shows him with a 49% approval. And tonight, the removal of an undocumented migrant mother and her two children, both American citizens, is the latest flash point in an ongoing fight over the president's mass deportation policies. Garrett Haake has the latest.
CBS avoided using verbs when addressing together, as seen in this exchange that closed out their reporting:
MAURICE DuBOIS: You asked the secretary about due process, how did he respond to that?
LILIA LUCIANO: That was very interesting, I asked his specifically about those Venezuelans who were sent to CECOT, to El Salvador, and he said “due process comes in many fashions.”
DuBOIS: What did he have to say about the American-born children in this particular case though?
LUCIANO: Well, when that happened that- the interview was before that, but the attorneys have called it speedy and a meaningful -- no meaningful due process. They said that it was way too rapid.
JOHN DICKERSON: What does the administration say about that though? They say they got due process?
LUCIANO: They say they got due process- they say that the parents were deported, the American children- it was a choice for the mothers to take them with them. And that if they had been separated, that would be the story.
DICKERSON: Lilia Luciano. Thank you.
CBS and NBC had sense enough, contrary to ABC and at least on this issue, to stop the madness. This isn’t to say that they’ll stop wetting the bed on judges or other illegal aliens, but they stopped self-inflicting damage. At least on this one story, on this one day. Tomorrow? Who knows?
Click “expand” to view the transcripts of the aforementioned reports as aired on their respective newscasts on Monday, April 28th, 2025:
ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT
4/28/25
6:36 PM
DAVID MUIR: We turn now to President Trump, who marks 100 days in office tomorrow. Tonight here, the new ABC news poll: what Americans are saying about the economy, inflation, immigration, and President Trump's promise to end the war in Ukraine on Day One. Here's Rachel Scott.
RACHEL SCOTT, SHOUTING IN FRONT OF MARINE ONE: Mr. President?
SCOTT: Tonight, on the eve of marking his first 100 days in office, President Trump facing the reality that while he was elected in large part because of the economy and inflation --
DONALD TRUMP: Starting on day one, we will end inflation. (VIDEO SWIPE) We will end inflation and we will make America affordable again.
SCOTT: He has now presided over the worst first 100 days in the stock market since Richard Nixon. Today, the new ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll on the first 100 days shows the president's approval rating is 39%, the lowest 100-day approval rating of any president in 80 years. 72% say his economic policies will likely cause a recession in short-term. 73% say the economy is in bad shape. And 53% say it's gotten worse since he took office. President Trump's tariffs leading to global uncertainty. And his 145% tariffs on China remain in place. The president says he has a good relationship with president Xi of China, but that he hasn't reached out to him. Telling Time Xi has personally reached out to him, something China denies. I asked the president, when did you talk?
(SHOUTING IN FRONT OF MARINE ONE): You said you spoke to president Xi? When did that happen? China said that hasn't happened.
TRUMP: I spoke to him numerous times.
SCOTT: Other reporters pressing, too.
REPORTER: Have you spoken to him since the tariffs? When did you last speak with him?
TRUMP: I don't want to- I don’t want to comment on that. But I’ve spoken to him many times.
SCOTT: But China today once again insisting that hasn't happened. Today a spokesperson saying, “as far as I know, there have not been any calls between the two presidents recently.” Adding, “Let me make it clear one more time that China and the U.S. are not engaged in any consultation or negotiations on tariffs”, after warning, “the United States should not confuse the public.” On immigration, the other major issue in the November election, President Trump getting his highest marks. But they come with new questions tonight. 46% of Americans approve of his immigration policies. But 48% say his actions deporting undocumented migrants have gone too far. Tonight, The White House defending how they've handled mass deportations after three children who are U.S. citizens, ages 2, 4 and 7, were deported to Honduras, along with their mothers, after routine checks by ICE. The president's border czar, Tom Homan, claiming the presidents were given a choice.
TOM HOMAN: What we did is remove children with their mothers, who requested their children depart with them. This is a parental decision. Parenting 101. Having a U.S. citizen child, does that make you immune from our law?
SCOTT: The ACLU says the 4-year-old suffers from a rare form of cancer. On the 2-year-old sent to Honduras, a federal judge appointed by Trump saying he has a strong suspicion the administration deported the 2-year-old, whose mother is currently pregnant, with no meaningful process. And the ACLU claiming the parents were nevert given a choice. That the parents did not have the opportunity to coordinate with caretakers or legal representatives. In a new interview with The Atlantic, the president was asked, what would happen if the administration accidentally deported the wrong person or an American citizen? The president saying, quote, “let me tell you that nothing will ever be perfect in this world.” And on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the promise from candidate Trump --
TRUMP: Before I even arrive at the Oval Office, I will have the disastrous war between Russia and Ukraine settled. Settled. It will take me no longer than one day.
SCOTT: Tonight, the war still raging. 46% of Americans said Trump's approach to Russia is too friendly. The president requesting this meeting with Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy at The Vatican, ahead of Pope Francis’s funeral this weekend. Though it's still unclear how and when this war will end, and what concessions, if any, will come from Vladimir Putin. With so much focus on the president’s interactions with our allies, tonight Canadians will be heading to the polls, an election that will decide how Canada responds to the president's ongoing tariff threat and his push to make Canada the 51st state. All of that all could end up helping the Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney, who took over after Justin Trudeau stepped down and has vowed to confront President Trump head-on. David.
MUIR: Now a lot of eyes on that Canadian election tonight. Rachel Scott, thank you.
CBS EVENING NEWS
4/28/25
6:34 PM
JOHN DICKERSON: Immigration only second to the economy during the campaign and in our new poll, 46% of Americans told us that in his first 100 days, the president has focused too much on deporting immigrants who are here illegally.
MAURICE DuBOIS: 37% said his focus on that was about right. Lilia Luciano reports on the latest roundups of undocumented immigrants.
LILIA LUCIANO: These are DEA agents breaking through a window during a raid at a Colorado Springs nightclub this weekend. The agents say they rounded up more than 100 undocumented immigrants. And in Florida, another series of raids. This time, ICE claims to have arrested nearly 800 more. Since President Trump took office, ICE says it has made over 151,000 arrests, four times the amount of the Biden administration arrests this time last year. But deportations are significantly lower. Among the Trump administration's biggest markers of success is a historically low number of border crossings, down more than 90% year-over-year. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem touted that to our Tony Dokoupil at the border today.
KRISTI NOEM: If you talk to all of these agents that have been down here for years, they say it’s night and day difference from where we were a year ago.
LUCIANO: A new CBS News poll found that most Americans approve of President Trump's deportation policies, but just under half approve of Trump's handling of immigration overall. Those tactics include family deportations, targeting of student protesters and the transfer of hundreds of migrants to a maximum security prison in El Salvador without a judge's order. We asked border czar Tom Homan about those tactics.
TOM HOMAN: I think we are doing the right thing, this country is safer because of what we are doing and we are keeping our promise to the American people.
LUCIANO: Would you say the strategy of arresting the worst of the worst has shifted?
HOMAN: No. When we do these operations, there are several going on right now across the country, we are targeting public safety threats and national security threats. Now let me- I’ll caveat that. No one is off the table. --
LUCIANO: No one is off the table?
HOMAN: If you are in the country illegally, you are on the table.
DICKERSON: Lilia, ICE arrests are up, but deportations are down. Why?
LUCIANO: Deportations are down and I asked him why. And he did explain something that I found interesting which is: the Biden administration's numbers include the people who were immediately deported across the border at a time where there was an overwhelming number of people there. The Trump administration is reporting people who are inside the country, and the border is pretty empty right now.
DuBOIS: You asked the secretary about due process, how did he respond to that?
LUCIANO: That was very interesting, I asked his specifically about those Venezuelans who were sent to CECOT, to El Salvador, and he said “due process comes in many fashions.”
DuBOIS: What did he have to say about the American-born children in this particular case though?
LUCIANO: Well, when that happened that- the interview was before that, but the attorneys have called it speedy and a meaningful -- no meaningful due process. They said that it was way too rapid.
DICKERSON: What does the administration say about that though? They say they got due process?
LUCIANO: They say they got due process- they say that the parents were deported, the American children- it was a choice for the mothers to take them with them. And that if they had been separated, that would be the story.
DICKERSON: Lilia Luciano. Thank you.
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS
4/28/25
6:31 PM
LESTER HOLT: Good evening and welcome. It is something every modern-day president faces, the measuring stick of those first 100 days in office. Tonight as the Trump presidency nears that mark, some harsh takeaways for the president and his administration, starting with a 45% approval rating among voters, according to a new NBC News-Staytuned poll. His approval rating is higher than his first term, but it is barely masking erosion and warning signs on some of the other issues that helped propel him into office, like the economy or his approval on trade and tariffs stands at 39%. And on border security and immigration, a signature issue for President Trump, our poll shows him with a 49% approval. And tonight, the removal of an undocumented migrant mother and her two children, both American citizens, is the latest flash point in an ongoing fight over the president's mass deportation policies. Garrett Haake has the latest.
GARRETT HAAKE: Tonight, President Trump approaching his 100th day in office, focused on his top day one priority, border security. The president signing three executive orders on immigration, including one ordering the attorney general to compile a list of so-called sanctuary cities, and states that don't fully cooperate with the federal immigration authorities, after a weekend raid in Colorado Springs where the DEA says over 100 migrants in the U.S. illegally were arrested at an underground nightclub frequented by MS-13 and TdA gang members.
KAROLINE LEAVITT: The American public don't want illegal alien criminals in their communities, they made that quite clear on November 5th, and this administration is determined to enforce our immigration laws.
HAAKE: The White House touting a 95% drop in illegal border crossings in March compared to the same month last year under President Biden. But tonight, the administration is facing criticism from migrant advocates over the removal of two American citizen children of an undocumented woman from Honduras, including her 4 year-old son. A migrant rights group says he was sent to Honduras without his medication for Stage Four cancer. The Trump administration says his mother chose to take her children when she was deported.
TOM HOMAN: A mother wanted her children to go with her. What better due process would anybody want? That's a parent's choice, not a government choice, not a judge's choice.
HAAKE: We pressed President Trump's border czar.
How is going after families with young kids targeting the worst of the worst?
HOMAN: First of all, we said we're going to prioritize the worst of the worst.
HAAKE: You feel like that's what you're doing?
HOMAN: Absolutely. But when you prioritize something, it doesn’t mean you forget about everything else. I have said from day one: if you're in the country illegally, you're not off the table.
HAAKE: But nearly 100 days into his second term, it is the economy where President Trump is facing his biggest challenge. Just 39% of Americans approve of his handling of trade and tariffs in a new NBC News-Staytuned poll. Overall, the president's approval rating stands at 45%. Two points down from our poll a month ago.
HOLT: And Garrett, our poll also shows President Trump has just a 40% approval rating on handling of inflation, and The White House is about to focus on that tomorrow.
HAAKE: Yeah, that's right, Lester. The president marks 100 days, the Treasury Secretary will be here tomorrow to defend the administration’s economic approach, and the president will hold his first major rally since the campaign in Michigan. A state he won, but where the economy and his tariffs are front and center. Lester.
HOLT: All right. Garrett, thanks.
