Former President Donald Trump reiterated his strong anti-immigration stance during a rally in Michigan on Tuesday, criticizing President Joe Biden’s border policies and promising mass deportations of illegal immigrants if he is reelected. He used controversial language like “bloodbath” to describe the situation at the border and accused Biden of allowing criminals and terrorists into the country.
Despite facing criticism for using the term “bloodbath” in the past and concerns of inciting political violence, Trump defended his choice of words and claimed that his political adversaries are the ones spreading misinformation and cheating in elections. Trump’s speech coincided with the Republican National Committee’s launch of a website called “Biden Bloodbath” to attack Biden’s border policies and highlight the issues with illegal immigration.
Trump also outlined his plans for what he called the largest domestic deportation operation in the history of the country if he is reelected. He referred to migrants entering the country illegally as “animals” and blamed illegal immigration for “wrecking” the country. Trump repeated claims about criminals, drug dealers, and terrorists entering the country illegally from various parts of the world, a statement that lacks sound evidence.
The rally in Michigan was one of Trump’s first public appearances since becoming the presumptive Republican nominee on March 12. Trump has been using increasingly dark rhetoric in recent months, fueling accusations that he is endorsing political violence. He has been linking high-profile crimes involving migrants living in the country illegally to Biden’s policies, including the murders of Georgia college student Laken Riley and Ruby Garcia in Michigan, despite lacking evidence to support his claims.
Recent studies have contradicted Trump’s claims that migrants in the U.S. illegally are committing crimes at higher rates than legal residents. A Stanford University study found immigrants were actually less likely to be incarcerated than U.S.-born individuals. The Cato Institute has also published research showing that migrants in Texas who are in the country illegally have lower incarceration and homicide conviction rates than U.S. citizens.
During his speech, Trump also referenced his own legal woes, suggesting that the U.S. justice system is unfairly rigged against him. He mentioned the $175 million bond he posted in his New York civil fraud case and implied that migrants accused of crimes do not face the same consequences. Trump is appealing an order to pay over $454 million for misstating his assets on financial statements, while the accused killers in the cases he mentioned were denied bond and are currently in jail.
