In the final days of the election, Donald Trump is escalating his dark rhetoric about the state of the country, delivering increasingly bitter, angry tirades against his political opponents.
In a speech in Arizona on Thursday, Trump called the United States a “dustbin for the world” as he railed against undocumented migrants and criticized the Biden administration’s border policies.
“They unleashed an army of migrant gangs that waged a campaign of violence,” Trump told the crowd. (National data does not support Trump’s repeated claims that undocumented immigrants are driving an increase in violent crime.)
“We’re a dumping ground,” he continued. “We are like a garbage can to the world. First time I ever said “garbage can.” But you know what? It is a very accurate description.”
Trump often resorts to crude remarks as he delivers his grim portrait of the United States and dire warnings about the state of the country if he doesn’t win the election. But with Election Day less than two weeks away and Trump and Kamala Harris remaining neck and neck in the polls, the Republican candidate’s rhetoric has grown darker and more menacing, and his attacks on his political opponents increasingly damaging.
Trump has stepped up his personal criticism of Harris as he spoke to supporters in recent weeks, insulting her intelligence and character. He went further at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, calling her a “s— vice president” to loud cheers. Then on Tuesday in North Carolina, he called her a “crazy” and baselessly suggested Harris had an alcohol or drug problem.
He has also stepped up his threat to punish his enemies, falsely accusing Democrats of “rampant cheating and fraud” in the 2020 election and promising to prosecute anyone who denies him a victory in November.
“IF I WIN, the people who CHEAT will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, including lengthy prison sentences, so that this perversion of justice does not happen again,” Trump railed in a post on Truth Social. “Please note that this legal exposure extends to lawyers, political operatives, donors, illegal voters, and corrupt election officials. Those involved in unconscionable behavior will be identified, arrested and prosecuted at a level that has unfortunately never been seen in our country.”
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
