Trump Slams Harris on Border in Bid to Keep Edge on Immigration
(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump sharpened his criticism on border security in a swing-state visit, playing up a political vulnerability for his election opponent Vice President Kamala Harris.
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“There’s no greater act of disloyalty than to extinguish the sovereignty of your own nation right through your border,” Trump said in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, on Saturday, flanked by posters displaying alleged undocumented immigrants who committed crimes in the state and pinning the blame on Harris. “What she’s done is a total disqualifier.”
The former president’s rhetorical attack follows Harris’ first visit to the US-Mexico border since she became the Democratic nominee. During her stop on Friday, she touted tougher measures to address migrant crossings and castigated Trump for his role in bringing down a bipartisan border security bill.
Polls ahead of the Nov. 5 election show immigration as a top concern for voters and that they prefer Trump to handle it. He has pledged to finish building a border wall, revive a targeted travel ban and carry out mass deportations of migrants if he’s returned to the White House. On Saturday, he pledged to “end all sanctuary cities” immediately upon taking office.
A Bloomberg News/Morning Consult survey this month found the former president has a 14-point advantage over Harris on immigration among voters across seven swing states.
Trump and Harris are locked in a tight race for the presidency, including in Wisconsin, where the Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll found Harris ahead by 51% to 48% among likely voters. Across the seven swing states in the poll, she leads Trump 50% to 47%.
The Republican nominee has sought to blame Harris for what he claims is “the worst border crisis in the history of the world,” citing violent crime in which migrants have been implicated.
Republicans have seized on Harris’ portfolio early in President Joe Biden’s administration that included addressing the root causes of migration, even though other officials, such as Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, bore more direct responsibility for border security.
Trump has been criticized for his immigration rhetoric, including by some senior Republicans. The former president has also promoted unfounded claims that Haitian migrants in the town of Springfield, Ohio, were eating dogs and cats.
Trump’s event caps a week that has seen both candidates ramp up their messaging — in particular on bolstering domestic manufacturing — in a bid to gain any advantage they can with voters on the economy.
Wisconsin is one of the so-called Blue Wall northern states crucial to Democrats retaining control of the White House.
While both campaigns are courting blue-collar workers battered by high prices and worries about jobs and wages, Trump on Saturday called immigration a more important election issue than inflation.
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