Trump, Harris Cross Swords on Immigration in Heated Debate: Accusations Fly Over Border Crisis
The US presidential debate hosted by ABC News also saw a heated exchange between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, with the immigration crisis on the US-Mexico border taking center stage.
Harris repeatedly accused Trump of obstructing legislation that could have addressed the situation.
“That bill would have put more resources to allow us to prosecute transnational criminal organizations for trafficking in guns, drugs and human beings, but you know what happened to that bill? Donald Trump got on the phone, called up some folks in Congress and said, ‘Kill the bill. You know why? Because he’d prefer to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem,” Harris said.
Trump, however, laid the blame squarely at the feet of Democrats, warning that Harris presidency would lead to a “Venezuela on steroids” scenario, citing the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of immigration as evidence of a disastrous approach. He claimed that the administration allowed “criminals, many, many millions of criminals,” “terrorists,” “common street criminals,” and “drug dealers” to enter the US.
“They’re now in the United States and told by their countries, like Venezuela, don’t ever come back or we’re going to kill you,” he said.
The discussion shifted to the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, withTrump pointing to Harris’ direct involvement in the administration’s immigration policy.
“She was the border czar. Remember that. She was the border czar. She doesn’t want to be called the border czar because she’s embarrassed by the border,” he said, accusing Democrats of trying to “import” future voters through illegal immigration.
Trump made a claim about Haitinan immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, alleging that they were killing and eating pets.
“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats,” he said, adding that they were “eating the pets of the people that live there.”
These claims appear to stem from a viral video of a Springfield resident who told the town council that immigrants in the community had killed ducks from a local park for food. One of Trump’s sons, Eric, recently posted an AI-generated image of his father surrounded by cats and geese, while Elon Musk shared a generated image of a duckling and kitten with the caption “Save them.”
Seeking to appeal to specific demographic groups, Trump also claimed that illegal migrants entering the US are taking away jobs from African Americans and Latinos. He even challenged Harris to immediately leave the debate and go to Washington to sign a bill closing the border.
