Former President Donald Trump has been accused of “racism” and xenophobia after he said in an interview that migrants were “poisoning the blood of our country.”
Trump included the line in a video interview in which he repeated previous claims about illegal immigrants and accused them of bringing disease into the country.
“Nobody has ever seen anything we are experiencing.” “This is a very sad thing for our country,” Trump said in an interview with The National Pulse, a right-wing website.
“It’s poisoning the blood of our country.” It’s so bad and more and more people are coming in with diseases. “People come with all sorts of things you can have,” he said.
Former President Donald Trump condemns migrants for ‘poisoning the blood of our country’
“Nobody has any idea where these people come from.” We know they come from prisons. We know they come from psychiatric institutions. “You know, they’re terrorists,” Trump said in an interview, referring to the wave of refugees.
Trump’s wording was sharply rebuked by the Anti-Defamation League, which pointed to similar language used by mass shooters.
“The suggestion that immigrants are ‘poisoning the blood of our country’ echoes the arguments of nativists and can lead to real danger and violence.” We’ve seen this kind of toxic rhetoric lead to violence in places like Pittsburgh and El Paso the real world. “It should have no place in our politics,” said ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt.
He called the language “racist, xenophobic and despicable.”
“And when someone has a big platform, they have to be careful with their voice, but when you’re the former president of the United States, you definitely have to be aware of your responsibilities because this kind of rhetoric is explosive and it has to stop. “Stop it,” Greenblatt said.
Jonathan Greenblatt, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, said Trump’s remarks had “overtones of nativist talking points.”
Geraldo Rivera (l.), a long-time Trump friend, called the comments “hateful”
“Nobody has any idea where these people come from.” We know they come from prisons. We know they come from psychiatric institutions. “You know, they’re terrorists,” Trump said in an interview, referring to the wave of migrants
The Trump campaign called it “senseless outrage” and called it a “common phrase.”
Adolph Hitler used the term blood poisoning in Mein Kampf.
“All the great cultures of the past perished only because the original creative race died out of blood poisoning,” he wrote.
The interview was billed as a Trump interview that said, “The fake news doesn’t show you.”
Trump caused a stir at the start of his 2016 election campaign when he spoke of Mexican “rapists” coming into the country.
“They bring crime.” They are rapists. And some, I suppose, are good people.’ he said.
According to the Mexican president, illegal immigration is at the top of American voters’ list of concerns. More than 10,000 migrants travel to the border every day.
Amid these concerns, Trump’s rival President Biden is under pressure to show he is working to stop the influx. This week, the administration announced in a government release that it would resume construction of a section of the border wall, but the White House said the measure was required by Trump-era law.
The Trump interview, filmed at Mar-a-Lago, dropped last week but has since gained attention.
Former Fox News host Geraldo Rivera, a Trump friend who condemned his actions around Jan. 6, criticized what he called Trump extremely hateful‘Hitler-like quote.’ He called it “shocking” and outrageous.”
“To think that this guy was my friend is shocking, I’m so embarrassed,” he said.
Trump spokesman Steven Cheung responded to critics in a statement.
“It’s a common expression used in everyday life – in books, on television, in films and in news articles.” “Anyone who thinks it’s racist or xenophobic is living in an alternate reality full of senseless outrage,” he said.