Washington, June 22 (EFE).— Former United States President Donald Trump on Saturday said he had proposed a UFC-style combat sports league for “violent” migrants to fight one another, using dehumanizing terms to describe immigrants.
Speaking to a crowd in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Republican presidential hopeful said he had suggested to his friend Dana White, president of the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), that they create a competition dedicated to immigrants.
“I said, ‘Dana, Dana, I have an idea for you to make a lot of money. You’re gonna go and start a new migrant fight league. Migrants, only migrants,’” Trump said. “And then at the end of the year, the champion migrant is going to fight your champion.”
He had proposed the idea speaking at a gathering of Christian conservatives in Washington “And I hate to tell you, Dana, I think that migrant might win. That’s how tough they are. These are not, this is not a normal situation… These people are drug dealers, gang members, killers in so many different ways. Now, and we probably have 18 million we’ll have 20 million by the time we get this guy [Joe Biden] out of there.”
The Republican used several cases involving foreign suspects as political ammunition. He mentioned the recent murder of Jocelyn Nungaray, 12, in Houston, Texas, for which two Venezuelans who recently entered the country were arrested and charged.
“They crossed our border claiming they feared for their lives in Venezuela, but you know, crime in Venezuela has gone down… because they have brought all the criminals here,” he said.
Trump also mentioned the arrest of an Ecuadorian man accused of raping a 13-year in New York, and the recent charges against a Salvadoran man for the rape and murder of Rachel Morin, a mother of five, in Maryland in August 2023.
As in 2016, Trump has used immigrants as part of his strategy to boost his campaign by accusing them of causing the country’s biggest problems. Unlike his first campaign, immigration in 2024 is a crucial issue for voters.
He again falsely accused immigrants of taking jobs from Americans, especially Latinos and African Americans.
Amid applause, the former president reiterated his plans to “begin the largest deportation operation in the history of the United States” and to close the country’s southern border if re-elected.
Trump also criticized President Joe Biden, calling him corrupt and “the worst president in history.”
The leading Republican candidate has focused his campaign on pivotal states like Pennsylvania, which he lost by a little more than one percentage point in 2020.
This was the second event Trump attended on Saturday. In the morning, he gave a speech in Washington at the Faith and Freedom Coalition meeting, which brings together ultra-conservative Christians.
Trump is preparing to face Biden in the first debate on Thursday, held at CNN headquarters in Atlanta. This debate is the first of two televised face-to-face debates between the candidates before the Nov. 5 elections.
Currently, there is a virtual tie between the two candidates. Biden leads with 40.7% of voting intentions, according to the average of polls compiled by the FiveThirtyEight website, while Trump follows with 40.5%. EFE
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