Donald Trump on Saturday deployed some of his harshest rhetoric against immigrants who have crossed the border illegally and committed crimes, especially against young women, while intensifying his personal insults against Kamala Harris.
In the disputed state of Wisconsin, Trump called Democratic Vice President Harris, who on Friday visited the border between the United States and Mexico for the first time in her presidential campaign, “mentally deficient” and “mentally disabled.”
The Republican candidate was flanked by illegal immigrant posters arrested for murder and other violent crimes, and banners reading “End Migrant Crimes” and “Deport Illegals Now.”
His speech was dedicated almost entirely to undocumented immigrants. He described those who had committed violent crimes as “monsters”, “cold-blooded murderers” and “vile animals”.
Trump is in a close fight with Harris ahead of the November 5 elections. Immigration and the southern border are one of the main issues for voters, according to opinion polls.
The former president blamed Harris and Democratic President Joe Biden for allowing the entry of undocumented immigrants into the United States, and accused some immigrants of wanting to “rape, loot, steal, plunder and kill the people of the United States.”
At one point, Trump admitted, “This is a dark speech.”
Trump’s speech took place in the small town of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, where a Venezuelan who was illegally present in the country he was arrested in September for allegedly assaulting a woman and attacking her daughter.
About 7 million migrants have been detained illegally crossing the border between the United States and Mexico during Biden’s term, according to government data, a record number that has fueled criticism from Trump and other Republicans against the Democratic presidency.
Visiting the border on Friday, Harris outlined her plans to fix “our broken immigration system,” accusing Trump of “fanning the flames of fear and division” over the impact of immigrants on American life.
Harris also called for stricter restrictions on asylum and promised to make stopping fentanyl from entering the United States a “top priority.”
