The Associated Press has deleted a Wednesday tweet regarding President Trump Donald John TrumpOmar fires back at Trump over rally remarks: 'This is my country' Pelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare Trump mocks Biden appearance, mask use ahead of first debate MORE's characterization of MS-13 gang members who enter the U.S. illegally as "animals" after the news agency said "it wasn't made clear that he was speaking after a comment about gang members."

"AP has deleted a tweet from late Wednesday on Trump’s 'animals' comment about immigrants because it wasn’t made clear that he was speaking after a comment about gang members," reads the tweet to the AP's 12.8 million followers on Thursday morning.

AP has deleted a tweet from late Wednesday on Trump’s “animals” comment about immigrants because it wasn’t made clear that he was speaking after a comment about gang members. — The Associated Press (@AP) May 17, 2018

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The deletion comes the same morning that White House counselor Kellyanne Conway Kellyanne Elizabeth ConwaySpecial counsel investigating DeVos for potential Hatch Act violation: report George and Kellyanne Conway honor Ginsburg Trump carries on with rally, unaware of Ginsburg's death MORE said the president is owed an apology from any organization that misreported or criticized him for calling undocumented immigrants "animals" when he was specifically referring to MS-13 gang members, considered by some as the most dangerous in the country.

The firestorm began after a White House meeting on Wednesday where Fresno County, Calif., Sheriff Margaret Mims was speaking about California "sanctuary city" laws.

“There could be an MS-13 gang member I know about, if they don’t reach a certain threshold, I cannot tell ICE about them," Mims said to the president.

“You wouldn’t believe how bad these people are. These aren’t people, these are animals, and we’re taking them out of the country at a level and at a rate that’s never happened before," Trump responded.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters on Thursday that the context of the comment was clear.

"If the media and liberals want to defend MS-13 they're more than welcome to," Sanders said in the White House press briefing. "Frankly, I don't think the term the president used is strong enough."

Many major news organizations, including The New York Times, CBS News, NBC News, ABC News and CNN, among others, referred to the president's comments without mentioning MS-13 in Twitter headlines to their millions of followers.

Trump lashed out at undocumented immigrants during a White House meeting, calling those trying to breach the country’s borders “animals” https://t.co/aQNeu29T6e pic.twitter.com/ogrFKaWyDZ — The New York Times (@nytimes) May 16, 2018

"These aren't people. These are animals." President Trump used the harsh rhetoric to describe some undocumented immigrants during a California "sanctuary state" roundtable. https://t.co/mOwXilRtwE pic.twitter.com/eYC6XhtR57 — CBS News (@CBSNews) May 16, 2018

"We're taking people out of the country — you wouldn't believe how bad these people are. These aren't people. These are animals."



President Trump says the U.S. has "the dumbest laws on immigration in the world" during a roundtable on sanctuary cities. pic.twitter.com/SHRtgwQvYj — NBC News (@NBCNews) May 16, 2018

Pres. Trump refers to some who cross the border illegally as 'animals,' not people. "You wouldn't believe how bad these people are."



The president was holding a roundtable discussion with California elected officials who oppose the state's sanctuary law. https://t.co/YfrZxC89CB pic.twitter.com/uvhKp9vwrO — ABC News (@ABC) May 17, 2018

"We're taking people out of the country. You wouldn't believe how bad these people are. These aren't people — these are animals." During a meeting with public officials who oppose California’s sanctuary policies, Pres. Trump criticized US immigration laws https://t.co/2KcrIhMnyR pic.twitter.com/SsmCdaofHb — CNN (@CNN) May 17, 2018

CNN sent a clarification tweet on Thursday afternoon, stating the MS-13 context was provided in the story itself.