In a fireside chat on border security, Donald Trump reiterated his grim warnings about potential violence from unchecked immigration.
Addressing supporters via video link, the former president claimed loose border policies would unleash a “bloodbath” inside the country. “
We will have a catastrophe beyond anything anyone has ever seen,” Trump contended.
He alleged open borders advocates care little for public safety and national security. “They want to destroy our country from within,” Trump said. However, the comments were light on evidence or context to back such catastrophic predictions.
Immigration experts have pushed back on similar rhetoric before, noting that most newcomers seek opportunity, not conflict. Still, for Trump, such strong messaging remains an effective rallying cry with his base.
Democrats accuse Trump of sensationalism to advance an isolationist agenda. But with the midterms looming, immigration looks set to remain a hot button issue and a political football between the two parties.
As ever, the reality is far more complex, with reasonable security policies hard to disentangle from harsher stances. But nuance is rarely the goal when red-meat rhetoric fires up the faithful.
