Trump calls Harris ‘mentally impaired’, unloads on illegal immigration in ‘dark speech’

Harris’ campaign fired back at Trump, saying ‘he’s got nothing inspiring to offer the American people, just darkness’

Reading Time:2 minutes

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, on September 28. Photo: Reuters

Published: 11:05am, 29 Sep 2024

Donald Trump on Saturday deployed some of his harshest rhetoric against immigrants who have crossed the border illegally and committed crimes, especially against young women, while he also escalated his personal insults against Kamala Harris.

In the battleground state of Wisconsin, Trump called Democratic Vice-President Harris, who on Friday visited the US-Mexico border for the first time in her 2024 presidential campaign, “mentally impaired” and “mentally disabled”.

The Republican presidential candidate was flanked by posters of immigrants in the US illegally who have been arrested for murder and other violent crimes, and banners saying “End Migrant Crime” and “Deport Illegals Now”.

His speech was unusually devoted almost entirely to undocumented immigrants. He called those who had committed violent crime “monsters,” “stone-cold killers” and “vile animals”.

Trump is locked in a close race with Harris ahead of the November 5 election. Immigration and the southern border are one of the top issues for voters, according to opinion polls.

Sarafina Chitika, a Harris spokesperson, said after Trump’s speech: “He’s got nothing ‘inspiring’ to offer the American people, just darkness.”