A day after Vice President Kamala Harris visited the southern border and promised to crack down on asylum and strengthen security, former President Donald J. Trump unleashed a series of sharp personal attacks against her at a rally Saturday, criticizing her intelligence and expressed contempt. He called her “mentally ill.”
In a dark and often rambling speech that lasted more than an hour, Mr. Trump, who was urged by his advisers to focus on policy issues rather than personal attacks, significantly escalated his attacks on Ms. Harris. Trump, who has often questioned President Biden’s mental competency, told supporters at a rally in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. That’s how Kamala was born. ”
Trump also linked Harris to the Biden administration’s border policies, adding, “And if you think about it, only a mentally ill person could allow something like this to happen to our country.” He later criticized her comments at the border on Friday, calling them “bullshit.”
It was a surprising series of broadsides in the midst of a presidential campaign, even for a candidate who seems to delight in offensive rhetoric. Mr. Trump’s speech in Prairie du Chien, a town of about 5,000 people along the Mississippi River, was intended to serve as a response to Mr. Harris, who promised and called for a crackdown on asylum during a border visit in Douglas, Arizona. That was my intention. Tighten penalties for those who cross borders illegally. This position, seeking to address political vulnerabilities, was at the heart of one of the toughest speeches on immigration and border policy by Democrats in a generation.
But Trump, surrounded by posters of illegal immigrants accused of violent crimes, accused Harris of being a political opportunist. She argued that she is responsible for immigrants who enter the country illegally and commit crimes.
“She’s a disaster,” Trump said. “And she was never going to do anything for the border. And she wasn’t even going to take a hard line now, other than the poll numbers are down.”
Polls show the candidates are in a close race. And in a recent New York Times/Siena College poll, 69% of likely voters said Harris was intelligent, including 71% of independent voters. This is higher than the 60% who said the same about Trump.
As he warns Americans about a wave of “immigration crime,” Trump often implicates authorities, even as the FBI reports that 2023 saw the fastest decline in homicides in the U.S. on record. Point out the high-profile crime being alleged. Illegal immigration. At one point on Saturday, he took the microphone to Patty Morin, the grieving mother of Rachel Morin, 37, who authorities say was raped and murdered by an illegal immigrant while jogging in Maryland last year. I gave it away.
During his speech, Trump continued to denigrate illegal immigrants in inflammatory terms, calling them “stone-cold murderers” and blaming them for other social ills.
At one point, Trump acknowledged the harsh nature of his remarks. “Isn’t this a wonderful and moving speech?” he joked. “We’ve got people sitting in the front row. They’re saying, ‘Oh my God.'” He then added, “What I’m saying is, this is dark, this is a dark speech. ” he added.
Harris’ campaign declined to respond to Trump’s personal attacks. Harris campaign spokeswoman Sarafina Titika said in a statement that Trump “finally told voters the truth. He has nothing to ‘impress’ the American people, only darkness.” said.
Trump has frequently veered off course, hitting many familiar talking points, including questioning climate change, even as he has spoken out on immigration, which his campaign sees as a key issue leading to victories in key battleground states. , accused Mr. Harris. He lied about working at McDonald’s and attacked Biden’s appearance.
Trump reiterated his threat to prosecute those found to have “rigged this election” if he wins in November. He repeated false claims that there was widespread fraud in the 2020 election he lost, adding that “if allowed” he would go back to “the last” election and prosecute people for voter fraud. Ta.
Trump and Harris appear to be locked in a close race in Wisconsin, with Harris losing some of the advantage she held in the early weeks after replacing Biden as the Democratic nominee. There is. Harris leads Trump in Wisconsin, 49% to 47%, according to the latest poll from The Times and Siena College.
Hamed Aleaziz and Ruth Igielnik contributed reporting.
