Donald Trump tore into Joe Biden’s ‘border bloodbath’ and claimed migrants are ‘animals’ and ‘not humans’ in a fiery speech on Tuesday.
The former president, 77, complained that he had to pay $175 million to secure a bond in his New York fraud case while members of the ultra-violent MS-13 gang were being released from jail.
Speaking in Grand Rapids, Michigan the former president vowed to shut down the border on the first day if he is re-elected.
Trump also pledged to end ‘rape, plunder and slaughter’ in towns across America.
He highlighted the case of Ruby Garcia, a 25-year-old Michigan woman who was shot and killed, allegedly by an illegal immigrant who had been previously deported from the U.S.
‘I’m the only one that has to put up a bond…I had to put up a bond this morning for $175 million,’ Trump said during the event, referencing his New York civil fraud case.
Trump claimed he did ‘nothing wrong’ while others ‘go free.’
‘They can shoot somebody, kill somebody, and walk out of jail an hour later,’ he said. ‘How about that. Do you think that’s a fair policy?’
Former President Trump speaking at an event on the border in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Trump appearing with members of law enforcement and Republican politicians in Grand Rapids, MI on April 2
Migrants who breached the barriers in El Paso, Texas on March 21, 2024
During his event, Trump vowed to seal the border and begin mass deportations if reelected to the White House
Trump began the event by playing clips of news reports of recent crimes allegedly committed by immigrants in the country illegally including clips of reports about Garcia who was shot and killed last month in Grand Rapids and dumped on the side of an expressway.
25-year-old Brandon Ortiz-Vite is charged with her murder after turning himself in. Police said the victim and suspect were dating.
According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Ortiz-Vite was in the country illegally. He had been arrested and deported in 2020 but at some point re-entered the United States.
‘We threw him out of the country, but crooked Biden took him back,’ Trump said. He said the suspect had many arrests but was ‘set loose to roam’ Michigan.
‘Under crooked Joe Biden, every state is now a border state, every town is now a border town,’ Trump declared.
Trump said that he spoke with ‘some of’ Garcia’s family, but he did not go into detail. The former president also mixed up Garcia’s age, saying she was 17-years-old. Garcia was 25.
Trump vowed if reelected he would seal the border and start mass deportations of immigrants in the country illegally.
‘We will stop the plunder, rape, slaughter and destruction of our American suburbs, cities and towns,’ Trump said. ‘We will end deadly sanctuary cities immediately, and I will shift massive portions of federal law enforcement to immigration enforcement.’
25-year-old Ruby Garcia’s body was found with gunshot wounds on the side of US-131 in Grand Rapids in March
Brandon Ortiz-Vite is charged with killing Ruby Garcia. Immigration officials said he was in the country illegally
Trump speaking at a table covered with images of victims killed by immigrants in the country illegally. The images where printed out and circulated for the event in Grand Rapids, MI
Ahead of his remarks, Trump sat down with a group of current and former law enforcement officials and lawmakers including GOP Congressman John James and Republican Michigan Senate Candidate Mike Rogers who joined him at the podium.
Outside the event, as number of Trump supporters gathered near the DeVos Place Convention Center in downtown Grand Rapids waving flags and signs to greet the former president.
Further up the street, Democrats supporting President Biden carried their own signs highlighting the failed bipartisan immigration deal that Trump urged GOP members to reject as well as the criminal cases against Trump.
Trump supporters waving flags and signs as they await for Trump’s arrival in Grand Rapids, MI
Anti-Trump protesters across from DeVos Place awaiting Trump’s arrival. Some carried signs on the bipartisan immigration deal that Trump help tank in Congress. Others showed their support for President Biden
Inside the event, the Trump campaign circulated a handout that included a list of crimes committed by immigrants in Michigan as well as images of victims who were allegedly killed by undocumented immigrants across the country including images of Garcia from Grand Rapids as well as Laken Riley, the 22-year-old who was killed in Georgia earlier this year.
Riley’s family and friends met with Trump during his rally in Georgia last month. President Biden addressed her by name during his State of the Union address as well.
The Republican National Committee also launched a website on Tuesday listing stories. It warned a vote for Biden is a ‘vote for an invasion.’
Trump supporters holding signs with an image of 22-year-old Laken Riley at the ex-president’s rally in Rome, GA on March 8. Riley became the face of immigration reform after she was murdered by an alleged immigrant in the U.S. illegally in February
Jose Antonio Ibarra, who was charged with Laken Riley’s murder, takes a booking photo via the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office
Biden holding a button remembering Laken Riley during his State of the Union address in March
Democrats in Michigan blasted the former president ahead of his visit.
‘The truth is, Donald Trump is coming here to politicize a tragic loss and lie to Michiganders’ faces about his record,’ said Lavora Barnes, chair of the Michigan Democratic Party. ‘When President Biden negotiated a tough, fair, and bipartisan border security deal, it was Trump who pressured his MAGA cronies to kill the bill, allowing the chaos to continue.’
After the Michigan remarks, Trump largely ignored questions shouted at him about whether he supports a six week abortion ban which will go into effect in his home state of Florida, saying he would make a statement on abortion ‘next week.’ He did not answer a shouted question on his support for Israel’s war in Gaza while attendees booed those asking the questions and chanted ‘four more years!’
From Michigan, the former president is headed to Green Bay, Wisconsin for his first rally in the state since 2022.
Voters there are headed to the polls on Tuesday to cast their ballots in the Wisconsin presidential primary, despite Trump and Biden already having clinched the necessary number of delegates to be their parties’ respected presidential nominees.
Michigan held its presidential primaries on February 27. Trump came away with more than 68 percent of the vote in the GOP primary, and President Biden received more than 81 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary.
The two are set for a close rematch in Michigan come November. The latest polling in the state from Bloomberg/Morning Consult has the pair tied at 45 percent.
Biden won the state in 2020 with just over 150,000 voters – or just more than 50 percent of the vote.
