51ºÚÁÏ

No stranger to appearing on Fox News shows, U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt can always be counted on to deliver conservative sound bites that leave teeth marks on liberals.

Last weekend was no exception, as Missouri’s junior GOP senator took his shots on not one, but two shows on the conservative news network.

, Schmitt discussed his puzzlement about Democrats being opposed to President Donald Trump’s idea to reopen the notorious Alcatraz prison to detain violent immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally.

“They lose their minds because of Trump Derangement Syndrome,� Schmitt told host Harris Faulkner. “I think (Trump) is very smart to put this out there and actually have a plan where the worst of the worst go in our country.�

“It’s only recently that the Left has just sort of decided that there’s not going to be punishment for crime,� he said.

, Schmitt questioned the wisdom of some Democratic legislators, spurred by discussion of U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s defense of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was detained and improperly returned to El Salvador after he was accused of being a criminal gang member, an allegation Abrego Garcia’s family and supporters deny.  

Van Hollen has stated that he is not fighting specifically for Abrego Garcia, but for the government respecting people’s constitutional right to due process.

But Schmitt had a decidedly different take on the matter.

“I actually think that they have not come to grips with what happened in November,� Schmitt told host Laura Ingraham. “They are totally out of touch with the American people.�

Schmitt said he welcomes the Democrats’ efforts along these lines.

“It’s really quite amazing,� he said. “It’s going to push them further to the left — and we ought to let them do it.�