Former President Donald Trump doubled down on his controversial comments claiming immigrants were “poisoning the blood of our country” before denying he had ever read Mein Kampf after drawing comparisons to Adolf Hitler.
Trump said migrants from “all over the world” are “poisoning the blood of our country” — a phrase similar to Hitler's — during a Saturday rally in New Hampshire.
The statement left Republicans disgusted and angry about the ex-president quotes Russian President Vladimir Putin along with other authoritarian leaders.
Trump spoke about the comments at a campaign rally in Iowa on Tuesday, repeating that he meant what he said but denying any comparison to the leader of the Third Reich.
“You know, if they let – I think the actual number is about 15, 16 million people into our country, we've got a lot of work to do. They are poisoning the blood of our country,” he said.
Former President Donald Trump doubled down on his controversial comments claiming immigrants were “poisoning the blood of our country” before denying he had ever read Mein Kampf following comparisons to Adolf Hitler
'It's crazy what's going on. They are ruining our country. And it's true. They are destroying the blood of our country. That's what they do. They are destroying our country,” Trump added.
He then immediately referred to the controversy he had caused across the political spectrum.
'They don't like it when I say that, and I have never read Mein Kampf. They said, “Oh, Hitler said that” – in a completely different way. Now they come from all over the world. People all over the world. We have no idea,” he said.
'They can be healthy, they can be very unhealthy. They could introduce diseases that will take hold in our country. But they do bring crime. But they come from all over the world.'
The formulation is compared to the following in Mein Kampf: 'All the great cultures of the past perished only because the original creative race became extinct from blood poisoning.'
Several lawmakers pushed back at the former president, saying migrants are “poisoning the blood of our country” as part of comments made at a rally in New Hampshire on Saturday.
Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said, “I think it's useless rhetoric,” said a Hill report. And fellow Senate GOP leader Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said she “obviously” disagrees with his language.
“We are all children of immigrants,” the West Virginia Republican said. 'It's just part of his campaign rhetoric, I think. I don't know, I can't explain it.'
Trump said migrants from “all over the world” are “poisoning the blood of our country” — a phrase similar to Hitler's — during a Saturday rally in New Hampshire
Republicans aren't feeling warm and fuzzy about former President Donald Trump's recent comments in which he used the words of Adolf Hitler to talk about migrants
During the New Hampshire rally, Trump also quoted Putin in claiming that President Joe Biden is a “threat to democracy.”
“Even Vladimir Putin… says Biden's, and this is a quote, politically motivated prosecution of his political rival is very good for Russia because it shows the rot of the American political system, which cannot pretend to teach others about democracy.” , the ex said. – said the chairman.
Putin made these comments in September at an economic forum in Russia.
Asked about Trump citing Putin in arguments against the slew of charges against him, Capito said, “I can't be responsible for what he says.”
On the other hand, Sen. Lindsey Graham said Sunday that he doesn't care what kind of language Trump uses because his policies were more effective than Biden's in quelling the southern border crisis.
Speaking at a rally in New Hampshire on Saturday, Trump used a phrase that appeared in Hitler's 1925 manifesto Mein Kampf and also quoted Vladimir Putin to defend himself against the 91 charges against him.
While Senate Republican Whip John Thune (R-Ky.) says Trump's rhetoric crossed the line, he still thinks Biden has failed to do anything to adequately address rising illegal immigration.
“My grandfather was an immigrant, so I don't agree with that sentiment,” the Senate's No. 2 Republican said.
“We are a nation of immigrants, we are a hospitable country, but we are also a nation of laws,” he added. “We cannot allow this rampant law-breaking at the southern border. It's gotten out of hand. It's insane.
“We are not upholding the rule of law in our country and I think this is wrong and it sends all the wrong signals to the rest of the world,” Thune concluded.
Trump's latest rally, where he also praised Chinese President Xi Jinping, North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un and Hungary's authoritarian leader Viktor Orban, gave Democrats more ammunition as the ex-president also faces 91 crimes in Washington, DC, Miami and New York. York.
“Donald Trump channeled his role models as he parroted Adolf Hitler, praised Kim Jong Un and quoted Vladimir Putin as he ran for president promising to rule as a dictator and threaten American democracy,” a spokesperson for Biden's re-election campaign said .
Sen. Graham (R-S.C.) has criticized Donald Trump's language in describing illegal immigrants, claiming he is more concerned about actions.
“You know, we're talking about language,” he told NBC News Meet the Press host Kristen Welker. “I don't care what language people use as long as we get it right.”
“You know, I think the president has a way of talking that sometimes I don't agree with,” Graham added. “But he actually delivered to the border.”
'People are looking for results. If all you want to talk about about immigration is the way Donald Trump talks, you're missing a lot.”
An interview with former President Donald Trump's late first wife, in which she claims he owned a book of Adolf Hitler's speeches and kept it next to his bed, resurfaces after Trump said migrants are 'poisoning the blood of our country'
This isn't the first time Trump has been compared to authoritarian leaders — he even suggested in an interview earlier this month that he would rule like a dictator, but only on “day one” of his second term.
Several outlets also have one Vanity Fair profile from 1990 where Ivana, Trump's wife at the time, told her lawyer that Donald kept My New Order next to his bed, a book of Hitler's speeches. Trump denied the accusation.
“When he visits Donald in his office, Ivana told a friend, he clicks his heels and says, 'Heil Hitler,' possibly as a family joke,” wrote Marie Brenner, reporting for the magazine.
She later quoted Trump in response to the accusation, saying, “If I had given these speeches, and I'm not saying I do, I would never read them.”
Hitler is one of the most prolific dictators in history. He came to power as leader of the Nazi Party, became Chancellor in 1933 and then took the title of Führer und Reichskanzler in 1934. He later led Germany into World War II and orchestrated the Holocaust. , which killed 6 million Jews.