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President Trump on shooter who ambushed two LA deputies: 'He's an animal; he's not a human being.'
Photographer: Roger Kisby/Bloomberg via Getty Images

President Trump on shooter who ambushed two LA deputies: 'He's an animal; he's not a human being.'

Trump at his Las Vegas rally also said those who murder police officers should get the death penalty

President Donald Trump called the shooter who ambushed two Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies while they were sitting in their squad car over the weekend an "animal."

What are the details?

"Now you saw a video of that animal that went up to the car — did everybody see that?" Trump asked during his Las Vegas rally Sunday. "This animal, this animal goes up to the car — two unsuspecting fine people ... fine people. I mean, they are in very grave condition, as you know. Fine people. He's an animal. And I called him an animal, and I was criticized by people for calling him an animal. They said, 'He's a human being.' He's not a human being. He's an animal; he's not a human being."

Reacting early Sunday morning to video of the shooting, Trump tweeted that the shooter and others like the shooter are "animals that must be hit hard!"

As you can probably imagine, some commenters criticized Trump for his tweet. Bishop Talbert Swan — who last month lamented that the "Grim Reaper" took the "wrong Trump" after the president's brother Robert died — tweeted photos of accused Kenosha shooter Kyle Richardson and asked Trump, "What about this animal? You defended him."

In 2018, Trump called murderous MS-13 gang members "animals," after which House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) scolded the president for denying the "spark of divinity" in each person.

What else did Trump say?

At his Sunday rally, Trump also said Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden "wants to appease domestic terrorists, and my plan is to arrest domestic terrorists, OK?" While the crowd cheered and chanted "USA! USA!" the president added, "We also believe that if you murder a police officer, you should receive the death penalty."

Anything else?

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the shooter who ambushed the two deputies. The suspect is described as a black male between 28 and 30 years old. He was wearing dark clothing.

The two deputies — a 24-year-old male and a 31-year-old female who has a 6-year-old child — were rushed to a hospital in critical condition. Both of their conditions have been since upgraded to stable, which Sheriff Alex Villanueva described as a "miracle" since both were shot in the head.

Outside the hospital's entrance, video showed one protester tell law enforcement officers standing guard, "I hope they f***ing die." Another video showed the officers standing guard being told that "you're next" and "y'all gonna die one by one."

Sheriff Villanueva tweeted his thanks to Trump and Biden for reaching out with "kind words regarding the horrific ambush which our two brave deputies survived last night," KCBS-TV reported.

"Thank you for setting partisanship aside and showing your support for the LASD and all law enforcement across the County of L.A.," Villanueva said, according to the station.

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