Former President Trump on Tuesday endorsed the term “bloodbath” as he focused on President Biden’s handling of the border during a visit to Michigan.
During his first trip to the battleground state since February, Trump described a gloomy situation of a country overwhelmed by migrants under Biden’s leadership and promised to strengthen border control immediately if reelected. This time, he used a phrase that got him in trouble a few weeks ago.
“I stand before you today to declare that Joe Biden’s border bloodbath, and that’s what it is, it’s a bloodbath,” Trump said in remarks from Grand Rapids.
“They tried to use that term incorrectly on me two weeks ago. You know, it’s all about misinformation,” he added. “But it’s a border bloodbath, and it’s destroying our country and it’s a very bad thing happening. It’s going to end on the day that I take office.”
Trump stood behind a placard that read “Stop Biden’s Border Bloodbath” and was surrounded by members of law enforcement.
Before Trump’s rally in Michigan, the Republican National Committee (RNC) announced the launch of a website, BidenBloodbath.com, to showcase the situation at the border and how the influx of migrants has impacted battleground states like Arizona, Michigan, Georgia, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The former president on Tuesday echoed much of the same over-the-top language about immigration that he has used in recent months to raise concern about the situation at the southern border, and he reiterated his promise to carry out the largest deportation effort in history.
He suggested there was something suspicious that many migrants entering the U.S. were men of military age. He claimed without evidence that leaders in countries around the world were emptying prisons and mental institutions to send migrants to the U.S. And he specifically highlighted instances of violent crime involving migrants in recent weeks.
“We will stop the plunder, rape, slaughter and destruction of our Ameican suburbs, cities and towns,” Trump said. “We will end deadly sanctuary cities immediately. I will shift massive portions of federal law enforcement to immigration enforcement. And we will impose a Naval blockade on the cartels, and we will hit the cartels very hard.”
Trump highlighted the case of Ruby Garcia, a 25-year-old who was killed last month in Grand Rapids, Mich. Authorities reportedly said the alleged killer was in the U.S. illegally and had been deported to Mexico in the fall of 2020 before reentering the country at some point.
The former president vowed there would be justice for Garcia’s killer before briefly lamenting his own legal problems.
“I’m the only one that has to put up a bond. I didn’t do anything wrong. I had to put up a bond this morning for $175 million,” Trump said, referring to a judgment he was ordered to pay in a fraud case in New York involving his business dealings. “I did nothing wrong. They can shoot somebody, kill somebody and walk out of jail an hour later.”
The decision to use the term 'bloodbath' was deliberate from Trump and his aides, as he had used it last month during a rally in Ohio while warning China against opening factories in Mexico to sell cars to the United States.
Trump stated that if he wasn't elected, it would be a disaster for the country and they wouldn't be able to sell cars because of tariffs. Critics suggested he was warning of political violence, but Trump and his allies said he was being unfairly misunderstood.
After Trump's remarks, critics quickly suggested he was warning of political violence. But Trump and his allies pointed out the broader context of his remarks and insisted he was being unfairly taken out of context.
Michigan is expected to be one of a few critical battleground states in November’s election. Biden won the state in 2020 by roughly 155,000 votes, but polls show a close race with less than eight months until Election Day.
The Biden campaign criticized Trump over a meeting with Michigan law enforcement officials, arguing it was contrary to his rhetoric and record when he was president.
Alyssa Bradley, the Biden campaign’s communications director in Michigan, said, “Donald Trump didn’t care about law and order when violent crime rose under his watch, he didn’t care when he encouraged his supporters to march to the Capitol, and he didn’t care when he told victims of mass shootings to ‘get over it.’”
Alyssa Bradley added that the idea of Trump 'standing' with Michigan law enforcement is laughable, considering his consistent disrespect for and attempts to defund police programs when he was president. He can’t paper over that dangerous record.
