Former Donald Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski refused to apologize Wednesday for giving a flippant response to a fellow Fox News guest who cited a story about a Down syndrome child being separated from her mother at the border.

Mr. Lewandowski made national headlines Tuesday night after he uttered, “womp womp,” while former senior Democratic National Committee adviser Zac Petkanas spoke about “a 10-year-old girl with Down syndrome” who had been “taken from her mother and put in a cage.”

“Did you just say, ‘womp womp,’ to a 10-year-old girl with Down syndrome being taken from her mother?” Mr. Petkanas asked incredulously. “How dare you! How dare you! How absolutely dare you, sir!”

.@Zac_Petkanas says on Fox News a 10-year-old girl with Down Syndrome was separated from her mother at the border.



Corey Lewandowski responds: “Womp womp.” pic.twitter.com/cZMXWmwbjw — Jon Passantino (@passantino) June 19, 2018

Mr. Lewandowski was swiftly rebuked by voices on the right and left.

There is no low to which this coward Corey Lewandowski won’t sink. This man should not be afforded a national platform to spew his hate. https://t.co/M8adu7P2sf — Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) June 20, 2018

This is so horrible, even by Lewandowski standards. https://t.co/4SNBUtCgfu — Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) June 20, 2018

Listening to Corey Lewandowski, who assaulted a female reporter, mock a 10 year old with Down syndrome being torn from her family, I find myself thinking the only difference between these people and the worst regimes of the 20th century is what they can do, not what they would do https://t.co/2VJcZHQnep — Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) June 20, 2018

Speaking Wednesday to Fox News anchor Sandra Smith, Mr. Lewandowski said he was mocking Mr. Petkanas, not the child.

“I was mocking Zac, a liberal Democrat national committee activist who is doing nothing but politicizing the issue of making an example of one particular child,” he said, Mediaite reported. “Let’s talk about families permanently separated because the mainstream media has been so outrageous about this.”

Mr. Lewandowski scoffed at the idea of giving an apology.

“An apology?” he asked. “I owe an apology to the children whose parents are putting them in a position that is forcing them to be separated. We owe an apology to Jameel Shaw and Brian Terry and Kate Steinle’s family who have allowed those individuals to be killed by illegal aliens. The American people owe an apology to those people. Because when you cross the border illegally you have committed a crime and there is accountability for committing crimes and there should be.”

Lots of Fake News today. I mocked a liberal who attempted to politicize children as opposed to discussing the real issue which is fixing a broken immigration system. It’s offenseive that the MSM doesn’t want to talk about the fact these policies were started under Obama. — Corey R. Lewandowski (@CLewandowski_) June 20, 2018

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