customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

knowledgeQuestion

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Reuters

Former US president Donald Trump railed against immigrants in the country illegally in an often-graphic speech in Pennsylvania on Sunday, his fourth campaign stop in a month in what has become the presidential campaign’s most hotly contested state.
The Republican presidential candidate called some categories of immigrants “vicious” more than 10 times during his nearly two-hour address in Erie, and described several violent incidents.
While there is no nationwide data on crimes committed specifically by undocumented immigrants, research shows they do not commit crimes at a higher rate than people born in the US.

Trump’s speech was short of new policy details and the ferocity of his rhetoric suggests he is focused mainly on driving core supporters to vote, rather than winning over middle-of-the-road voters, ahead of Election Day on November 5.
Trump believes immigration is a winning campaign issue, and he has at times said he believes immigration weighs on voters’ minds more than other major topics, such as the economy.
“They call them of the worst order,” Trump said of immigrants who had committed violent crimes. “Charged with or convicted with heinous crimes, including child predators, drug dealers, vicious gang members, sadist thugs and people that deal in women.”
Trump multiple times referenced instances of rape, including child rape. At one point, he suggested he would condone a burst of police violence.
“One rough hour, and I mean real rough. The word will get out and it will end immediately,” he said.


It is hardly the first time Trump has unleashed a tirade against undocumented immigrants in his bid for the White House.
In June 2015, in the speech announcing his candidacy for the Republican nomination for the 2016 election, Trump accused Mexico of sending rapists and other criminals to live in the United States.
“They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists, and some I assume are good people, but I speak to border guards and they tell us what we are getting,” he said in his inaugural campaign speech in the atrium of Trump Tower in Manhattan.
Trump’s rally on Sunday in Erie came one month to the day after his vice-presidential running mate, US Senator J.D. Vance, held his own event there. Trump is expected to hold another rally in western Pennsylvania on October 5.
The former president notably did not repeat his debunked claims that Haitian immigrants have eaten household pets in Springfield, Ohio. He did briefly refer to the community of Charleroi, Pennsylvania, which he has described as being overwhelmed by Haitians.
At one point, Trump played a video of a criminal defendant who had entered the country illegally threatening a judge.

Many allies and advisers to Trump believe Pennsylvania is the most important of the seven battleground states that will ultimately decide the election.
Of those seven, Pennsylvania is the most populous and has the most votes in the Electoral College, which in turn determines the presidential election winner.
“If we win Pennsylvania, we win,” Trump said on Sunday.
Democratic candidate Vice-President Kamala Harris and Trump have already spent hundreds of millions of dollars on ads in Pennsylvania, more than the total spent in any other state and also more per capita.
Erie County is one of two Pennsylvania counties that favoured Trump in the 2016 election against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton before favouring US President Joe Biden against Trump in 2020.
Trump narrowly won the state and the presidential election in 2016, before losing both in 2020.
This time around, polls show that Pennsylvania is again competitive.
Harris leads Trump by 1 percentage point in the state, according to an average of polls maintained by polling and analysis website FiveThirtyEight. That difference is well within almost all polls’ margin of error.
Trump’s next rally in Pennsylvania, on October 5, will take place in Butler, about 100 miles (160km) south of Erie and the site of a failed assassination attempt on Trump in July. A bullet grazed the former president’s ear.


Trump, anxious for a Pennsylvania win, rails against immigrants in latest address

Trump calls Harris ‘mentally impaired’, unloads on illegal immigration in ‘dark speech’

What Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Kamala Harris taught me

Kamala Harris vows to cut fentanyl flow to US, urges China to boost crackdown on precursor chemicals

US presidential election 2024

Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the Bayfront Convention Centre in Erie, Pennsylvania on Sunday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Trump supporters listens to the Republican presidential nominee speak at a campaign rally at the Bayfront Convention Centre in Erie, Pennsylvania on Sunday. Photo: Getty Images via AFP

Trump dances after speaking at a campaign rally in Erie, Pennsylvania on Sunday, Photo: AP 

Trump to meet Ukraine’s Zelensky, UK’s Starmer in New York

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a press conference in the lobby of Trump Tower, New York on Thursday. Photo: EPA-EFE

US President Joe Biden, left, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House in Washington on Thursday. Photo: Ukrainian Presidency / dpa

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during the UN General Assembly in New York on Thursday. Photo: Bloomberg

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, on September 28. Photo: Reuters

Starmer dines with Trump in New York in bid to ensure UK-US relationship

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Photo: dpa

 Donald Trump in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York earlier on Thursday. Photo: EPA-EFE

US President Joe Biden and Britain’s PM Keir Starmer meeting at the White House last Friday. Photo: Reuters

Trump’s goal of mass deportations fell short. But he has new plans for a second term

Donald Trump holds up an immigration numbers graph during a visit to the US southern border in Arizona in August. Photo: EPA-EFE

Migrants aiming to reach the border between Mexico and the US. File photo: AFP

Migrants queue up for processing after arriving at Jacumba Hot Springs, California. File photo: TNS

News

World

United States & Canada

Republican presidential candidate called some categories of immigrants ‘vicious’ more than 10 times during his nearly 2-hour address in Erie


Republican presidential candidate called some categories of immigrants ‘vicious’ more than 10 times during his nearly 2-hour address in Erie.
