Donald Trump hammered Kamala Harris for her border security and immigration plans in front of thousands in Arizona Thursday, saying she’s made the U.S. a human ‘dumping ground.’
Speaking to brimming Mullett Arena, in Tempe on Thursday the former president sought to make immigration the central theme of his address in the border state.
‘Kamala’s migrant invasion given to us by gross incompetence disqualifies her from even thinking about being president,’ Trump said.
‘We’re like a dumping ground,’ Trump said. ‘We’re like a garbage can for the world.’
Donald Trump hammered Kamala Harris for her border security and immigration plans in front of thousands in Arizona Thursday, saying she’s made the U.S. a human ‘dumping ground.’
The ex-president, clearly amused with his new metaphor, admitted the phrase was brand new.
‘It’s the first time I’ve ever said garbage can, but you know what it’s a very accurate description,’ he continued.
Trump also said President Joe Biden is ‘not allowed’ to say whether he wants to ‘lock him up’ or now, referring to comments the 81-year-old made on Tuesday.
‘The whole world is watching us, and they see these people that don’t deserve to be in any position of authority,’ Trump said.
‘Remember, he got – whether you like him or not, I’m not a fan of his – did you see last night
he blew it? He said lock him up. He would – he said lock him up last night. He’s not allowed to do that. He’s such a stupid guy. Such a stupid fool. He’s such a guy.’
He then refocused on his opponent.
‘She was the border Czar and she never made one phone call,’ Trump claimed, insinuating the vice president did not do a thing to mitigate the historic flow of migrants that have crossed into the U.S. over the past 3.5 years.
‘No person who is responsible so much bloodshed and death on our soil can ever be allowed to become the president of the United States.’
Harris, on the other hand, claims she’s been working on the border, and says Trump does not have any intentions of fixing it..
‘We’re like a dumping ground,’ Trump said of the U.S. under Kamala Harris. ‘We’re like a garbage can for the world’
Migrants, including women and children, prepare to cross the Rio Grande to reach the United States border to seek humanitarian asylum in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico
‘I reject the false choice that suggests we must choose either between securing our border and creating a system that is orderly, safe and humane,’ Harris said during a recent trip to the border in Douglas, Arizona at the end of September. ‘We can and we must do both.’
Trump, she said, ‘prefers to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem,’
‘And the American people deserve a president who cares more about border security than playing political games and their personal political future.’
However, data complied by the Republican-controlled House Homeland Security Committee reveals that between fiscal year 2021 and fiscal year 2024, there were over 10.8 million migrant encounters.
Under Trump, between the fiscal years of 2017 and 2020 there were just three million migrant encounters.
Democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris tours the border wall with Border Patrol agents and other personnel (not pictured), near Tucson, in Douglas, Arizona, U.S., September 27, 2024.
It was the second time the vice president visited the border during her term
Immigration has repeatedly ranked as a top issue for voters in this cycle and the ex-president focused on the topic throughout his address.
In Arizona, border security and immigration has been found to be the single most important issues among voters there, a Center for the Future of Arizona report found.
And recently the former president has seen more favorable polling in the southwestern state.
The RealClearPolitics national presidential polling average currently shows Trump with a small 1.5 point lead ahead of the Democrat.
Still, many of these surveys are so close they are within the margin of error, meaning the race is a dead heat.
Trump has taken a small lead in Arizona according to national polling averages
Migrants would regularly cross in El Paso despite the massive amounts of razor wire deployed there to keep illegal crossers out
Having visited the southwestern state nearly every other week since August, Arizona has become a common stomping ground for the Trump campaign in the final weeks before the election.
Harris has similarly made several stops there as the election is winding towards its culmination.
