Former President Donald Trump escalated his inflammatory rhetoric on immigration during campaign rallies in Michigan and Wisconsin on Tuesday, accusing President Joe Biden of unleashing a "bloodbath" at the U.S.-Mexico border and causing the country to become a "third world county." Trump's fiery speeches, delivered in two critical Midwestern swing states, also featured a challenge to Biden for a debate and a comparison of himself to notorious gangster Al Capone.
In Grand Rapids, Michigan, Trump stood flanked by uniformed law enforcement officers and a line of flags as he claimed that Biden had brought "carnage and chaos and killing from all over the world" and "dumped it straight into our backyards." He referred to people in the U.S. illegally who are suspected of committing crimes as "animals," using dehumanizing language that experts warn could increase the risk of violence.
Trump continued to hammer the theme at a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where he accused rogue nations of "pumping migrants across our wide open border" and "sending prisoners, murders, drug dealers, mental patients, terrorists." He also claimed that migrants would cost the country trillions of dollars in public benefits and cause Social Security and Medicare to "buckle and collapse."
The former president's focus on immigration comes as border crossings have hit record highs, and polls suggest that many prospective voters are concerned about the issue. While violent crime is down overall, Trump and other Republicans have seized on several high-profile crimes allegedly committed by immigrants in the U.S. illegally to attack Biden.
Trump invoked the killings of Ruby Garcia, a Michigan woman found dead on the side of a Grand Rapids highway, and Laken Riley, a nursing student in Georgia, during his speeches. He incorrectly referred to the 25-year-old Garcia as a 17-year-old and claimed to have spoken to her family, which her sister, Mavi, disputed in a statement to Fox17.
In a surprising moment, Trump compared himself to Al Capone, the notorious gangster, joking that he has "more indictments than Al Capone." He also challenged Biden to a debate, saying, "Instead of trying to have corrupt prosecutors to fight your battles for you... deranged people... let's go have a good solid friendly debate.. because our country is going to hell."
The White House emphasized the positive impact that immigration has on the U.S. economy, arguing that recent gains in immigration have helped to boost employment and sustained growth. "We know immigrants strengthen our country and also strengthen our economy," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at Tuesday's briefing.
Biden's campaign accused Trump of trying to hide his unpopular record with "erratic lies and desperate denials." They also criticized the former president for his role in killing a bipartisan border deal that would have added more than 1,500 new Customs and Border Protection personnel, in addition to other restrictions.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, said, "There was a solution on the table. It was actually the former president that encouraged Republicans to walk away from getting it done. I don't have a lot of tolerance for political points when it continues to endanger our economy and, to some extent, our people as we saw play out in Grand Rapids recently."
Trump's rallies also featured his usual promises of "drill baby drill," jabs at green energy, and mockery of "Biden and his thugs." He announced that he would make November 5, the election day, "Christian Visibility Day" as a counter to Transgender Visibility Day, which he claimed was disrespectful to Christians and suggested was Biden's idea, despite the fact that the day has been observed since 2010 and just happened to fall on the early holiday this year.
