Donald Trump likened America to the “trash of the world” on Thursday while ranting about illegal immigration during a doom-filled rally speech in Arizona.
As the 2024 presidential campaign winds down, the former president appears to have settled on immigration scare tactics as his primary path to returning to the White House. At a separate event in Nevada on Thursday, he said towns across the country were being “invaded and conquered.”
At both rallies, President Trump focused on the Biden administration’s immigration policies and concerns about illegal border crossings.
In many ways, President Trump’s message was the antithesis of the Harris campaign, mirroring President Barack Obama’s focus on hope for the future.
As President Trump said Thursday, he sees “conquered” communities as “infected” by “out-of-control” immigration. In his eyes, the United States is a “dumping ground” for immigrants from 181 countries around the world.
TRUMP: Consider the words…invaded and conquered towns. They were conquered, conquered. And there are still many towns that have not been infected. pic.twitter.com/ag6CTasjvs
— Asyn (@Acyn) October 25, 2024
According to the former president, his only hope is to return to the White House.
“I will rescue every town in America that has been invaded and conquered,” he told a rally in Las Vegas, Nevada. “Consider the words: Invaded and conquered towns. They were conquered, they were conquered.”
Raising the specter of Aurora, Colorado, which he described earlier this month as a “war zone” infested with Venezuelan gangs, he claimed: It’s out of control. ”
“And there are a lot of towns that haven’t been infected yet, but they’re scared that they’re going to get infected,” Trump added. “And they will. And we’re going to put these violent, bloodthirsty criminals behind bars or kick them out of the country without delay.”
Trump, speaking early Thursday at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, another potentially important battleground state, was even more emphatic. They’re not just coming from South America, they’re coming from 181 countries as of yesterday. We’re a garbage dump. ”
“We are like a trash can to the world,” he continued. “That’s what happened…It’s the first time I’ve said that, but every time I stand up and talk about what they did to our country, I get more and more angry.”
“The first time I said trash, you know, that’s a very accurate term,” Trump added.
He also accused Democratic rival Kamala Harris of “gross incompetence” in combating illegal immigration, branded President Joe Biden a “stupid idiot” and called California Governor Gavin Newsom “the worst”. He launched a series of attacks on Democratic supporters. And he claimed that Colorado Governor Jared Polis is too “petrified” to deal with immigrant gangs.
The races in Nevada and Arizona are very close. The latest polls show Trump with a narrow lead in Arizona and Harris with a narrow lead in Nevada.
Harris said she would fix America’s “broken” immigration system, but pointed to recent declines in the number of illegal immigrants. She also promised that “solutions are right around the corner.”
