Democratic Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono argued Wednesday that the outrage over comparing illegal immigrant detention facilities to concentration camps was contrived in order to protect President Donald Trump’s agenda.

Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ignited a firestorm after she said the U.S. government is “running concentration camps on our southern border” to hold immigrants.

“That is exactly what [holding facilities] are. They are concentration camps,” Ocasio-Cortez said Monday. “I want to talk to the people that are concerned enough with humanity to say that ‘Never Again’ means something. The fact that concentrations camps are now an institutionalized practice in the home of the free is extraordinarily disturbing and we need to do something about it.”

The comments received massive backlash for the historical inaccuracies and insensitivity to the millions of Jews who were slaughtered in concentration camps during the Holocaust. However, Ocasio-Cortez doubled down on the claim and a host of Democratic lawmakers tried defending the freshman congresswoman. (RELATED: Auschwitz Museum Reaches Out To MSNBC’s Chris Hayes After He Defends Ocasio-Cortez)

“Every American Jew that I know is disgusted by the cruel treatment of children and families at our southern border,” Democratic Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz tweeted Tuesday. “If you want to show solidarity with American Jews, help us to stop this, and don’t feign outrage at the language that people use to describe this tragedy.”

“I agree with you Brian,” Hirono responded. “I’d add that this is more manufactured moral outrage to cover up this administration’s immorality.”

I agree with you Brian. I’d add that this is more manufactured moral outrage to cover up this administration’s immorality. https://t.co/ApNj09jsQa — Senator Mazie Hirono (@maziehirono) June 19, 2019

Hirono has been a longtime critic of Trump and his administration, expressing opposition to not only his policies and nominations, but frequently fires off personal attacks as well. She has referred to the president as a liar, a misogynist and an “admitted sexual predator” and referred to his criticism of her a “badge of honor.”

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