White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said President Donald Trump's referral to MS-13 as "animals" didn't go far enough in describing its "disgusting" members, adding liberals and the press were welcome to defend the gang.

Trump was criticized for reportedly referring to illegal immigrants in general Wednesday as "animals" during remarks at the White House, but he was responding to a statement about MS-13 when he spoke. Numerous media outlets left out the MS-13 comments in their reporting on what he said.

"The president was very clearly referring to MS-13 gang members who enter the country illegally and whose deportations are hamstrung by our laws," Sanders said.

She called it one of the most vicious and deadly gangs, noting its motto of, "Rape, Control, Kill." In what seemed to be a reference to people taking exception to Trump calling people "animals" in general, Sanders said they were "welcome" to defend MS-13.

"If the media and liberals want to defend MS-13, they're more than welcome to," she said. "Frankly, I don't the term that the president used was strong enough. MS-13 has done heinous acts."

"It took an animal to stab a man 100 times and decapitate him and rip his heart out," she added. "It took an animal to beat a woman they were sex trafficking with a bat 28 times, indenting part of her body. And it took an animal to kidnap, drug and rape a 14-year-old Houston girl."

Sanders said Trump should continue to use his everything in the government's power to stop these "horrible, disgusting people."