Trump's 'poisoning blood' of America remark on immigrants triggers row
Former United States (US) President Donald Trump has once again attacked immigrants and his political opponents using inflammatory and divisive language. Addressing a rally on Saturday in Durham, New Hampshire, Trump reasserted his claim that immigrants were "poisoning the blood of our country." "They poison mental institutions and prisons all over the world, not just in South America, but all over the world," he added.
Why does this story matter?
This is not the first time Trump, who is facing 91 criminal charges, has used the poisoned blood phrase. In October, the former US president said the same phrase and called sections of American society he disliked "vermin." He also threatened to "root out the communists, Marxists, fascists, and radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country and lie, steal, and cheat in elections."
You can watch Trump's remarks here
Expert flags Trump's controversial remarks, draws links to Hitler
Reacting to Trump's latest remarks, an author of a book on fascism stated that Trump's repeated use of that language was dangerous. Jason Stanley, a Yale professor, said Trump's words echoed the rhetoric of Adolf Hitler, who warned against German blood being poisoned by Jews in his book "Mein Kampf." "He (Trump) is now employing this vocabulary in repetition in rallies," he added.
Border security major theme of Trump's campaign
Trump, the Republican presidential frontrunner, has made border security a central topic of his campaign. He has promised to reinstate the hardline policies enacted during his presidency from 2017 to 2021, as well as establish new ones that will further restrict immigration. If re-elected, Trump promised "to stop the invasion of our southern border and begin the largest domestic deportation operation in American history."
Know about Trump's plans for immigration policies
According to the news outlet CNN, his new plans reportedly include placing undocumented immigrants who are already living in the country into detention camps to await deportation. The plans would necessitate the construction of massive camps to hold migrants awaiting deportation and the involvement of federal and local law enforcement in wide-scale arrests of undocumented immigrants across the country.
