Hold your horses.
It's all very well to criticize the statement.
And I notice that no names are named in the criticism.

Having said that,
United States Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon,
repeatedly interviewed by more than one television network
since the story broke four days ago,
has stuck by his statements and his opinions.

Merkley repeats the phrase
"how you would construct a dog kennel"
both on CNN and on CBS on-camera interviews.

He saw a "tiny, tiny" little boy whose age he estimated
between four and five years.

Does Mudcat have a problem if, in fact,
the thread title reflects what the main speaker in the journalistic report
actually said?

Or is the problem not limited to Mudcat?
Stop and look at this carefully, please, if you may.