T+ T – Normal size
Former US President and Republican Party candidate in the upcoming presidential elections, Donald Trump, escalated his personal insults against his rival, the Democratic Party candidate in the elections, Kamala Harris, while delivering one of his most severe speeches attacking immigrants who cross the border illegally and commit crimes, especially against young women.
In the swing state of Wisconsin, Trump described Harris, who visited the US-Mexico border on Friday for the first time since launching her 2024 presidential campaign, as “mentally retarded” and “mentally disabled,” after he had previously described her as “weak.” And “stupid,” and “lazy.”
The Republican presidential candidate was surrounded by posters of pictures of immigrants in the United States illegally who were arrested on charges of murder and other violent crimes, and signs that read: “End immigrant crime” and “Expel the illegals now.”
Trump unusually devoted his speech almost entirely to talking about illegal immigrants. He described those who committed violent crimes as “monsters,” “cold-blooded killers,” and “vile animals.”
The former president held his rival Harris and Democratic President Joe Biden responsible for allowing illegal immigrants to enter the United States, accusing some immigrants of wanting to “rape, plunder, steal, plunder, and kill the people of the United States.” However, Trump acknowledged in his speech that “this is bleak rhetoric.”
Studies have generally concluded that there is no evidence that immigrants commit crimes at a higher rate than native-born Americans, and critics say Trump’s rhetoric reinforces racist stereotypes.
Trump’s opponents also accuse him of brazenly exploiting bereaved families to fuel his narrative that foreign-born immigrants, often of Latino descent, are part of an invading army.
According to government data, authorities arrested about seven million migrants illegally crossing the US border with Mexico during the Biden administration, a record high that sparked criticism of Harris and Biden by Trump and his fellow Republicans.
During her visit to the border on Friday, Harris outlined her plans to reform the “flawed immigration system,” while 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.
