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December 20, 2023

Former President Donald Trump reiterated his controversial views on immigration during a campaign event in Waterloo, Iowa, on Tuesday. He suggested that individuals entering the United States illegally are having a detrimental impact on the nation, stating, "They dump them on the border, and they pour into our country, and nobody said to check them."

Trump continued, expressing concern about the perceived consequences, asserting, "They're destroying the blood of our country. That's what they're doing. They're destroying our country." This statement echoes his previous remarks made at a rally in New Hampshire over the weekend, where he claimed that immigrants entering the U.S. are "poisoning the blood of our country."

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On Saturday, former President Donald Trump restated his assertion that a significant number, possibly 15 to 16 million people, have been allowed into the United States, and he expressed concern about the perceived impact on the nation. In his words, "When they do that, we got a lot of work to do. They’re poisoning the blood of our country."

Trump reiterated this claim on Truth Social later that evening, emphasizing in capital letters, "Illegal immigration is poisoning the blood of our nation. They're coming from prisons, from mental institutions — from all over the world."

These remarks faced swift condemnation from President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign, drawing parallels to Adolf Hitler's use of the term "blood poisoning" in his manifesto “Mein Kampf” to disparage immigration and the blending of races.

Certain Republicans on Capitol Hill criticized former President Donald Trump for his statement.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., highlighted the contradiction in Trump's stance by noting that Trump had appointed his wife, Elaine Chao, to his cabinet. Chao, who served as Trump's transportation secretary, immigrated to the U.S. from Taiwan as a child.

Senator Mike Rounds, R-S.D., who had previously endorsed Senator Tim Scott for the GOP nomination before Scott ended his presidential bid, expressed disapproval of Trump’s "unacceptable rhetoric." Rounds emphasized the importance of celebrating diversity, stating, "we should celebrate our diversity."

During Tuesday's event in Iowa, former President Donald Trump dismissed comparisons to Adolf Hitler, stating that he "never read Mein Kampf" and that Hitler's comment was made "in a much different way."

A 1990 Vanity Fair article reported that Trump's ex-wife, Ivana Trump, mentioned that Trump had an anthology of Hitler's speeches called My New Order in a cabinet next to his bed. Trump responded, explaining that his "friend Marty Davis from Paramount" gave him a copy of Mein Kampf, emphasizing that Davis is Jewish. However, Davis clarified to Vanity Fair that he did give Trump a book about Hitler, but it was My New Order, and he provided it because he thought Trump would find it "interesting." Davis also clarified that he is not Jewish.