Donald Trump went on a nasty rant about illegal immigration and predicted at a private fundraising dinner this summer that this “might be the last election ever” if Kamala Harris wins.
The Guardian obtained a 12-minute recording of the Republican presidential candidate’s speech at a dinner held on August 10 in Aspen, Colorado. Attendees at the dinner were asked to donate between $25,000 and $500,000 per couple.
Trump devoted much of his speech to border security and immigration, repeating the xenophobic rhetoric now familiar at his rallies. “Far-left lunatics want to take people out of prisons, mental institutions and psychiatric hospitals,” he claimed without evidence, adding that the U.S. is harboring “a record number of terrorists.” .
The former president said the “smart, very street-oriented” leaders of Venezuela and other South American countries were trying to reduce their country’s crime rate, reduce prison burdens and save money by killing murderers and drug addicts. He claimed to be sending traffickers into the United States.
President Trump gave the false example of 22 people who falsely claimed to have come to the United States after being released from prison in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. “We said, ‘Where are you from?’ They said, ‘Prison.’ ‘What did you do? “What we did is none of your business.” Do you know why? Because they’re murderers. ”
The candidate added, “I hate using that dirty word,” apparently acknowledging that his use of the F-word goes further than at a campaign rally. The Congolese government said there was no truth to President Trump’s statements.
The candidate continued: “They’re the toughest people. These people come from Africa, they come from the Middle East. They come from all parts of Asia, the bad parts, the rough parts, but the only good thing is they don’t have to deal with our crimes. They make our Hells Angels look like the nicest people on the planet.”
Research shows that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans.
After his private plane (a Boeing 757, colloquially known as Trump Force One) suffered engine trouble, President Trump announced that he was planning to hire former disgraced investor and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. flew to Aspen in a Gulfstream G-550 jet he once owned.
The dinner was held at the $38 million mansion of investors and art collectors John and Amy Phelan. Guests include casino mogul Steve Wynn, billionaire businessman Thomas Peterffy, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Florida Representative Byron Donald, Colorado Representative Lauren Boebert, and former Colorado Senator Cory Gardner. were included.
Trump, who incited the coup attempt on January 6, 2021, and claimed that his Democratic rival Harris posed a real threat to democracy, used the special event to challenge her as president. warned of dire consequences if
“Look, we have to win, and if we don’t win, this country is going to hell,” he said. “You know, there’s an expression that says this could be the last election we’ll ever have. This is an expression that I really believe, and this is the last election we’ll ever have. I believe it could be an election.”
The former president was speaking a month before his first, and perhaps only, televised debate with Harris, in which polls and experts would widely judge her to be the clear winner. Ta. That wasn’t what he expected.
“What I’m saying is we have a radical leftist who’s going to be president – it’s going to be a disaster if she wins – she wants to be president. Although she is mean, she must be bad at debates and must be terrible at interviews.She can’t be interviewed.
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President Trump also claimed that Harris supports the movement to “defund the police,” suggesting that she is a typical politician who would return to print if elected.
“Her policy is to defund the police. She wants to defund the police. She wants open borders. Relationships with politicians – I have a long I’ve been on both sides of politics, so I’ve seen it. Now, my time on this side is short, but I’ve always been a contributor. She wants to go out and defund the police. And they always go back to the original plot.”
Harris, a former trial prosecutor, expressed support for the “defund the police” movement in a radio interview in June 2020, but later changed her position after becoming Joe Biden’s running mate. It was reversed.
President Trump also said that at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July, 20-year-old Thomas Crooks opened fire from a rooftop, killing firefighter Corey Comperatore, 50, and killing other Trump supporters. He also reflected on surviving an assassination attempt in which two people were injured.
Trump told how members of Mar-a-Lago, a golf club in Florida, had asked for donations to Comperatore’s family. “I said absolutely, and they handed me a check for $1 million, which is a lot of money. Perhaps even more impressive is that we’ve put out a GoFundMe for the injured groups, including virtually We have raised over $6 million for 3 people.”
He then recalls his meeting with Comperatore’s widow, Helen, and makes a dangerous attempt to find humor in tragedy. “So they’re going to get millions of dollars, but this woman, her wife, this beautiful woman, I gave her a check, we gave her a check. , and she said, “This is very nice and I appreciate it, but I’d rather have a husband.” Now, some of the women in this room wouldn’t say the same thing. I know there are people.”
Trump quipped, as his dinner guests erupted in laughter. “I know at least four couples. Governor (Abbott), there are four couples I know of, and you’re not one of them. In fact, at least four couples here… He would have been overjoyed.”
The event is understood to have raised $12 million for the Trump campaign, compared to Harris’ first full month of running for the White House in August, when she raised more than four times as much as her opponent. It wasn’t enough to prevent it.
