Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign ran on a virulent anti-immigration ticket, with the former reality TV star focusing on illegal migration over the Mexican border as an issue through which to garner political support. But more than any other anti-immigration politician, Trump used his campaign rallies to compound ill will toward potential Mexican migrants with some outrageous comments that he delivered from Trump Tower on the occasion of his campaign announcement.
“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best,” he said. “They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists,” however, Trump then qualified his statements: “And some, I assume, are good people” (via CBS News).
Read Related Also: Deputy Hit by Stolen U-Haul Truck, Suspect Shot in the Leg
Trump has repeatedly defended and doubled down on his original statement, telling a rally in West Virginia in 2018: “With us, it’s a lottery system … You can imagine what those countries put into the system. They’re not putting their good ones … And remember my opening remarks at Trump Tower, when I opened. Everybody said, ‘Oh, he was so tough,’ and I used the word ‘rape.’ And yesterday, it came out where, this journey coming up, women are raped at levels that nobody has ever seen before. They don’t want to mention that.”
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN’s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
