Former President Trump slammed Vice President Harris in her native California on Saturday evening, ranting about migrants and bashing illegal immigration in the Golden State.
Speaking at a rally in Coachella, Trump curtailed parts of his stump speech to condemn what he described as a “paradise lost” on the West Coast, blaming Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, for violent crime, border problems and high inflation.
“We’re not going to let her destroy our country like she did San Francisco,” Trump said about his White House opponent, who served as district attorney in the northern California city before becoming attorney general and a U.S. senator.
“It’s a paradise lost but we’re going to bring it back,” Trump insisted.
The former president spent most of his speech in the state’s 25th congressional district fuming about the immigration policies promoted by Harris in the Biden administration, using fear-mongering language to condemn the “vicious and bloodthirsty criminals” and “savage gangs” he alleged were overtaking California.
The former president blamed Harris for green-lighting a wave of dangerous people to enter the state while holding top positions in elected office. “She’s imported an army of illegal aliens,” Trump said without evidence, “from the dungeons of the third world.”
“They’re now living happily in California,” he added.
The Republican presidential nominee, who is running neck-and-neck with Harris in many swing state polls, falsely claimed that Harris “resettled” criminal non-citizens “from prisons and jails” into local communities. “They can now prey on innocent Americans,” he lamented, later promising to “rescue the people” from Harris.
Immigration often polls high among voter concerns and Trump used his brief visit to draw attention to some of Harris’s most liberal policy positions, including claiming that she is in favor of abolishing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency known as ICE.
A handful of progressive Democrats have expressed support for reducing or eliminating the agency altogether, but the calls have not caught much traction within the party and have been met with pushback from moderates in particular. Harris promised to cut some ICE funding while running for the 2020 Democratic nomination but has since moved away from that position while serving under President Biden and seeking the #1 spot on Pennsylvania Ave this November.
In the home stretch of the election, where candidates typically focus on issues close to home, Trump highlighted immigration more than domestic concerns like jobs and the economy. Instead, he reinvigorated the border wall rhetoric that ignited his 2016 presidential campaign against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and dominated much of his own administration.
“On Day 1 I will close the border,” Trump promised.
Mid-way through his speech, Trump became more incensed over the prevalence of illegal immigrants across the country, zooming out from California and speaking to a national audience.
He called for the death penalty for any illegal immigrant who kills an American citizen or law enforcement official and also said he would use special forces to deport illegal immigrants on a state-by-state basis.
“The migrant invasion ends and the restoration of our country begins,” Trump said, pitching himself to the crowd. He also used cryptic language to describe his political opponent.
“The day I take office, she’s finished,” he yelled.
While Trump’s trip to blue-centric California is not likely to shake up the top of the ticket, some election analysts and pollsters told The Hill this week it could have an effect in a handful of important congressional races for control of the House of Representatives. The 22nd and 27th congressional districts, which are both represented by Republican incumbents, are nearest to Coachella.