“On an extremely rare occasion, Donald Trump was bizarrely well-behaved at a rally today in North Carolina. By well-behaved, I mean he stuck to his teleprompter script–full of lies, conspiracies and offensive rhetoric. But Donald can’t fool us. Just because he was on his best behavior for his wife, Melania, who joined him on the trail, doesn’t mean we forgot about his record of conning people or didn’t catch his lies about our country’s immigration system, military and working families. The Donald’s entire campaign has been built on lies, and he’s not changing his tune with just three days to go.
]]>“Trump’s failed attempt to gloss over what has been found in his tax returns by The New York Times is pathetic–the Republican nominee for president is now boasting about avoiding paying his fair share, unlike millions of hardworking Americans who know how important it is to contribute to our schools, to our veterans, and to our infrastructure. His tax avoidance makes it clear that Donald Trump is only looking out for Donald Trump, not for middle class Americans.”
To add insult to injury, Trump just can’t stop lying. Here are Trump’s top four lies from tonight’s rally.
THE LIE: Trump: “We have illegal immigrants in many cases treated better than our veterans.” [Loveland, CO 10/3/16]
THE TRUTH: Washington Post Fact Checker gave Donald Trump’s claim that veterans are “in many cases” being treated “worse” than undocumented immigrants a rating of “Four Pinocchios.” “Trump often says veterans ‘in many cases’ are being treated ‘worse’ than illegal immigrants. To an extent, whether one group of people is treated ‘worse’ than another is a matter of opinion. But it’s clear that the ‘many cases’ that his campaign cites are apples-to-oranges comparisons that don’t make much sense. And more broadly, people who are in the United States illegally aren’t granted the same rights as people here legally — both civilians and veterans. This is an absurd comparison, and Trump needs to drop it. Four Pinocchios” [Washington Post, 9/13/16]
PolitiFact rated Donald Trump’s claim that “our veterans, in many cases, are being treated worse than illegal immigrants” as “False.” “Trump said, ‘Our veterans, in many cases, are being treated worse than illegal immigrants.’ In some states undocumented immigrants are barred from enrolling in post-secondary institutions, or pay out-of-state tuition even if they’ve lived in that state most of their lives; veterans are eligible for federal benefits for higher education and training and are eligible for in-state tuition. Undocumented immigrants also aren’t eligible for Medicaid, cannot buy coverage through the Affordable Care Act and cannot receive Social Security benefits, all of those services and benefits are available to veterans. Veterans also have the right to vote and are eligible for federal job placement resources. Veterans are entitled to several more benefits that are not offered to civilians, much less undocumented immigrants. We rate Trump’s statement False.” [PolitiFact, 9/9/16]
THE LIE: Trump: “Just about the highest in the world, our taxes.” [Loveland, CO 10/3/16]
THE TRUTH: Washington Post Fact Checker said Donald Trump’s claim that “we’re the highest-taxed country in the world” wasn’t “anywhere near” true. “‘Right now, we’re the highest-taxed country in the world.’ –Trump As a self-proclaimed billionaire, Trump probably personally faces high tax rates. But the statistics don’t lie—the United States isn’t anywhere near the top among industrialized nations.” [Washington Post, 2/7/16]
PolitiFact rated Donald Trump’s claim that the U.S. had “the highest tax rate anywhere in the world” as “False.” “Trump, while lamenting the condition of the middle class, said the U.S. has ‘the highest tax rate anywhere in the world.’ All sets of data we examined for individual and family taxes prove him wrong. Statutory income tax rates in the U.S. fall around the end of the upper quarter of nations. More exhaustive measures – which compute overall tax burden per person and as a percentage of GDP – show the U.S. either is in the middle of the pack or on the lighter end of taxation compared with other advanced industrialized nations. We rate Trump’s claim False.” [PolitiFact, 10/20/15]
THE LIE: Trump said he got a “small loan” from his father to start his business. [Loveland, CO 10/3/16]
THE TRUTH: Donald Trump received more than $74 million from loans tied to his father. “The ‘small loan’ was the $1 million from Trump’s father, Fred, to finance his Grand Hyatt hotel in 1978. (At this point, Donald was already president of his father’s real estate company.) But Fred Trump made out many other loans to Donald until his death in 1999, including a $70 million construction loan for the Grand Hyatt and a $3.5 million casino chip loan to bail out Trump’s struggling gaming empire, the Washington Post’s Fact-Checker reported.” [PolitiFact, 6/22/16]
Donald Trump received what he characterized as “a small loan” of $1 million loan from his father. “Donald Trump on Monday said his climb to the top of the business world hasn’t been an easy one and depicted a $1 million loan from his father as ‘small.’ ‘My whole life really has been a ‘no’ and I fought through it,’ Trump said Monday at an NBC-sponsored town hall here. ‘It has not been easy for me, it has not been easy for me. And you know I started off in Brooklyn, my father gave me a small loan of a million dollars.’” [CNN, 10/26/15]
Donald Trump’s “small loan” of $1 million would likely be worth around $6.8 million in 2016 dollars. “That small loan from Trump’s father was worth $1 million, probably given before Trump entered the Manhattan real estate market in the early 1970s. If Trump’s father made the loan in 1968, the year his son graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, that $1 million would be worth $6.8 million in today’s dollars, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index inflation calculator.” [CNN, 6/22/16]
THE LIE: Trump of Clinton: “In America, she brought enormous poverty to all communities.” [Loveland, CO 10/3/16]
THE TRUTH: No. In fact, read this.
]]>“This afternoon, Donald Trump delivered another dark and disturbing speech about immigration that was filled with lies and bigotry,” said Brad Woodhouse, President of Correct The Record. “Today’s speech in Houston showed just how much Trump has doubled down on his ugliest and most divisive impulses. In the past two days, Trump has failed to apologize for his racist attacks on President Obama and alluded to violence against Hillary Clinton. This morning, Trump showed just how little self control he has by lashing out on Twitter against Robert Gates and launching a misogynistic attack on New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd. Any talk of a ‘new’ Donald Trump is delusional. Trump is one of the most dangerous, unhinged and destructive presidential candidates in modern American history. With each passing day, he demonstrates just how unfit he is to be president.”
]]>#TrumpAZ Hell of a speech. Almost perfect. Logical, deeply felt, and powerfully delivered. Now watch how the media twists it.
— Jared Taylor (@jartaylor) September 1, 2016
Excellent speech by Donald Trump tonight. Deport criminal aliens, end catch and release, enforce immigration laws & America First.
— David Duke (@DrDavidDuke) September 1, 2016
I hear Churchill had a nice turn of phrase, but Trump’s immigration speech is the most magnificent speech ever given.
— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) September 1, 2016
Trump is returning to the ideas of the 1924 Immigration Act.
Immigrants will reflect the racial makeup of the country.#AmericaFirst
— Richard B. Spencer (@RichardBSpencer) September 1, 2016
Great Trump speech! Deport not just criminals, but welfare users. Illegals can’t work; immigration in the interests of citizens,
— Kevin MacDonald (@TOOEdit) September 1, 2016
]]>I thought it was a great speech. Completely ruled out any cuckery on immigration. Never saw anything like that from Mitt Romney
— Hunter Wallace (@occdissent) September 1, 2016
*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*
Washington, D.C.—Tonight, Correct The Record Communications Director Elizabeth Shappell released the following statement on Donald Trump’s immigration speech in Arizona:
Tonight confirmed what we knew all along–there is no ‘softening. Donald Trump reiterated his hateful stance on immigration tonight, despite his new campaign team’s best efforts at simmering his rhetoric when referring to those who risk everything to make a better life in our country.
Trump screwed up his big chance to talk about wall payments in Mexico today–choking and then lying about it. That meeting–his one foreign policy credential–meant nothing, apparently. Even though President Enrique Peña Nieto said Mexico isn’t paying for it, Trump tonight shouted that Mexico is going to pay for his wall, but ‘they don’t know it yet.’ Trump keeps on lying and holds the same extreme ideas since he announced his candidacy for president, when he called Mexican immigrants ‘rapists’ with ‘lots of problems.’ His hate-fueled words and divisive policy proposals won’t make America great — they are the opposite of what makes America great.
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Donald Trump lied again about Hillary Clinton, claiming, “[Hillary Clinton and President Obama] support the release of dangerous, dangerous, dangerous criminals from detention..” This outrageous lie has already been debunked.
LIE:
Donald Trump: “[Hillary Clinton and President Obama] support the release of dangerous, dangerous, dangerous criminals from detention…” [Trump Immigration Speech in Phoenix, Arizona, 8/31/16]
THE TRUTH:
PolitiFact gave Donald Trump’s claim that Hillary Clinton wants to “release the violent criminals from jail” and that “she wants them all released” a rating of “Pants on Fire.” “Trump said it ‘is Hillary Clinton’s agenda’ to ‘release the violent criminals from jail. She wants them all released.’ It would be preposterous for any politician who wants to win an election to propose freeing every violent criminal from jail. Like many political figures today on the right, center and left, Clinton supports something much more modest — easing how the criminal justice system treats nonviolent offenders. That’s a far cry from saying Clinton is poised to set free everyone from Charles Manson to Unabomber Ted Kaczynski. We rate Trump’s claim Pants on Fire!” [PolitiFact, 5/26/16]
PolitiFact: “Clinton does support criminal justice reform, but we found no evidence that her plan includes the release of ‘violent criminals,’ much less ‘all’ of them.” “Clinton does support criminal justice reform, but we found no evidence that her plan includes the release of ‘violent criminals,’ much less ‘all’ of them. For starters, we should note that the Sentencing Commission’s action is now a done deal. Short of calling on the commission to reverse itself — which the panel, being independent, could simply ignore — or passing a law through Congress, there isn’t really anything Clinton (or Trump) could easily do to stop the forthcoming early releases. And of course, federal judges, not the president, are the ones who must sign off on applications for early release.” [PolitiFact, 5/26/16]
PolitiFact: “We looked at Clinton’s stated proposals for criminal justice policy and found that she focused her initiatives only on ‘nonviolent’ offenders.” “More broadly, we looked at Clinton’s stated proposals for criminal justice policy and found that she focused her initiatives only on ‘nonviolent’ offenders. The Clinton campaign said Trump’s comment is a misrepresentation of her views.” [PolitiFact, 5/26/16]
PolitiFact: The Clinton campaign’s “consistent focus on nonviolent offenders undermines the notion that Clinton wants to release violent offenders at all, much less to do so willy-nilly.” “If anything, Clinton’s policy page bends over backward to focus her attention on ‘nonviolent,’ rather than violent, offenders. Proposals specify ‘nonviolent’ offenders no fewer than seven times. This consistent focus on nonviolent offenders undermines the notion that Clinton wants to release violent offenders at all, much less to do so willy-nilly.” [PolitiFact, 5/26/16]
Donald Trump just lied (again) about Hillary Clinton’s refugee plan. Hillary has proposed accepting 65,000 refugees from Syria.
Trump claimed that Hillary supports accepting 620,000 refugees.
It’s just another egregious falsehood from Trump’s campaign of lies.
LIE:
Donald Trump: “This includes her plan to bring in 620,000 new refugees from Syria and that region over a short period of time even yesterday when you were watching the news, you saw thousands and thousands of people coming in from Syria.” [Trump Immigration Speech in Phoenix, Arizona, 8/31/16]
THE TRUTH:
FactCheck.org: “Clinton proposed that the U.S. accept 65,000 refugees from Syria… It’s not ‘Clinton’s plan’ to admit 620,000 refugees as president.” “Trump, citing a Senate subcommittee report, said that ‘Hillary Clinton’s plan’ would allow 620,000 refugees to resettle in the U.S. during her first term as president. But Clinton didn’t say that’s how many refugees she would allow into the country. The Republican-led subcommittee made assumptions about what Clinton would do as president. Last year, Clinton proposed that the U.S. accept 65,000 refugees from Syria. That was 55,000 more than the 10,000 President Obama authorized for admission from that country for the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30. In all, Obama authorized the admission of 85,000 refugees from all nations in fiscal 2016, and Secretary of State John Kerry has said that the administration would aim to admit at least 100,000 global refugees in fiscal 2017. To get to 620,000 refugees, the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration and The National Interest assumed that Clinton would do something she has not explicitly said that she would — allow 155,000 refugees into the U.S. each year during her first term as president. So, it’s not ‘Clinton’s plan’ to admit 620,000 refugees as president. The subcommittee assumed she wanted to do that, even though Clinton has not specified a figure for all refugees over four years.” [FactCheck.org, 8/15/16]
Tonight, Donald Trump repeated his false claim that Hillary Clinton supports “open borders.” Unfortunately for Trump, his attempt to mislead voters has been debunked multiple times.
LIE:
Donald Trump: “President Obama and Hillary Clinton have engaged in gross dereliction of duty by surrendering the safety of the American people to open borders, and you know it better than anybody right here in Arizona.” [Trump Immigration Speech in Phoenix, Arizona, 8/31/16]
Donald Trump: Hillary Clinton “has pledged…create totally open borders in the United States.” “TRUMP: ‘She has pledged to grant mass amnesty and in her first 100 days, end virtually all immigration enforcement, and thus create totally open borders in the United States.’” [Associated Press, 6/22/16]
THE TRUTH:
PolitiFact rated the claim that “Hillary Clinton is for open borders” as “False.” ”Giuliani said, ‘Hillary Clinton is for open borders.’ Clinton supported a 2013 bill that would have invested billions in border security in addition to a path to citizenship. As a presidential candidate she has called for securing the border and targeting deportation to criminals and those who pose security threats. While her plan would make it easier for many undocumented immigrants to avoid deportation, that’s not the same as allowing a free-for-all at the border and ending enforcement. We rate this claim False.” [PolitiFact, 7/18/16]
PolitiFact said Donald Trump’s claim that Hillary Clinton’s immigration plan would “create totally open borders” was “a huge distortion” and gave the claim a rating of “False.” “Trump said Clinton’s immigration platform would ‘create totally open borders.’ This is a huge distortion of Clinton’s proposals. Clinton has praised work already done to secure the border, and she said she supported a 2013 bill that would have invested billions more in border security while creating a path to citizenship for some undocumented immigrants. Her plan calls for protecting the border and targeting deportation to criminals and security threats. Her plan would make it easier for many undocumented immigrants to avoid deportation, but that’s not the same as ending all enforcement. We rate this claim False.” [PolitiFact, 6/23/16]
FactCheck.org called claims Hillary Clinton supports “open borders” wrong.” “Giuliani and Rep. Michael McCaul, the chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, both wrongly claimed that Hillary Clinton supports ‘open borders.’ As we wrote when Trump himself made a similar claim, Clinton supported a Senate immigration bill that would have created a path to citizenship for those in the country illegally, but it also would have included large investments in border security. […] On her campaign website, Clinton says she would ‘focus resources on detaining and deporting those individuals who pose a violent threat to public safety.’ But the site also states that she will ‘uphold the rule of law’ and ‘protect our borders and national security.’ […] At a campaign stop in November, Clinton was even more explicit. ‘We need to secure our borders, I’m for it, I voted for it, I believe in it, and we also need to deal with the families, the workers who are here, who have made contributions, and their children,’ Clinton said in New Hampshire in November. ‘We can do more to secure our border and we should do more to deal with the 11 or 12 million people who are here, get them out of the shadows.’ That’s far short of advocating for open borders.” [FactCheck.org, 7/19/16]
CNN’s Reality Check called it false that Hillary Clinton advocated for open borders. “‘Hillary Clinton is promising more of the same. Open borders, executive amnesty and the surge of Syrian refugees,’ said Mike McCaul, R-Texas, the chairman of the Homeland Security Commission. Clinton’s platform on immigration incorporates a pathway to citizenship and enforcing immigration laws, including deporting people who ‘pose a violent threat to public safety.’ Clinton said in November that the US needs ‘to secure our borders. I’m for it, I voted for it, I believe in it, and we also need to deal with the families, the workers who are here, who have made contributions, and their children.’ She also said in March that the US has ‘done a really good job securing the border.’ Clinton’s proposed policies and past rhetoric do not reflect open borders. That’s false.” [CNN, 7/18/16]
Hillary Clinton: “We need to secure our borders….We can do more to secure our border, and we should do more to deal with the 11 or 12 million people who are here, get them out of the shadows.” ”During this campaign, Clinton has called for addressing immigration laws including a path to citizenship within her first 100 days. But she has also called for protecting borders and deporting criminals or those who pose threats. ‘We need to secure our borders. I’m for it, I voted for it, I believe in it, and we also need to deal with the families, the workers who are here, who have made contributions, and their children,’ she said in November. ‘We can do more to secure our border, and we should do more to deal with the 11 or 12 million people who are here, get them out of the shadows.’ This is pretty consistent with her view as a New York senator and secretary of state.” [PolitiFact, 7/18/16]
Associated Press: “It’s not true that Clinton’s plan would create open borders.” “THE FACTS: It’s not true that Clinton’s plan would create open borders. Her plan does call for a pathway to citizenship that would allow people currently in the country illegally to stay, but only after going through a series of steps to become a citizen. On enforcement, Clinton has called for focusing on ‘detaining and deporting those individuals who pose a violent threat to public safety,’ but not ending enforcement outright.” [Associated Press, 6/22/16]
Here he goes again. Donald Trump just lied about Social Security benefits being given to undocumented immigrants under a Hillary Clinton presidency. Fact check: false.
LIE:
Donald Trump: “Hillary Clinton has pledged amnesty in her first 100 days, and her plan will provide Obamacare, Social Security, and Medicare, for illegal immigrants, breaking the federal budget.” [Trump Immigration Speech in Phoenix, Arizona, 8/31/16]
THE TRUTH:
Washington Post Fact Checker said Donald Trump’s claim that undocumented immigrants would collect Social Security under Hillary Clinton was “bizarre” and “just not supported by facts.” “The Republican presidential nominee makes a bizarre claim that undocumented immigrants will collect Social Security under a Clinton presidency. In general, people in the United States illegally are not eligible to collect Social Security benefits. They must be granted some type of lawful status — either by obtaining legal status or being granted deferred action. Even then, it’s not accurate to say they are ‘skipping the line.’ People who obtain lawful status under DACA need to work for at least 10 years, pay taxes and reach retirement age before they are eligible to receive Social Security benefits. Trump has already earned 41 Four-Pinocchio ratings. We would have liked to see the nominee finally stick closer to the facts in his first general-election ad. Unfortunately, this ad is — to borrow a line from its script — ‘more of the same.’ The broad assertion in this ad is just not supported by facts, and thus earns Four Pinocchios.” [Washington Post, 8/20/16]
PolitiFact gave Donald Trump’s claim that undocumented immigrants would collect Social Security benefits under Hillary Clinton a rating of “Mostly False.” “Trump says in his television ad that, under a Clinton presidency, illegal immigrants would get to collect Social Security benefits. It is correct that Clinton has supported plans to give many undocumented immigrants the right to stay in the country through deferred action, which has already been done under the Obama administration’s DACA program. As a consequence of that, they are allowed to work and become part of the Social Security system under rules that have long been in place. But Trump’s ad gets at none of that nuance, instead insinuating that all illegal immigrants would be getting immediate handouts under Clinton’s presidency. Even if the broader DAPA program were to be adopted today, it would take a minimum of 10 years of working — and paying into the Social Security system — before these immigrants would be able to start getting their retirement money back. With few exceptions, the first payments wouldn’t be collected until after Clinton leaves office. Trump’s statement has an element of truth but gives a misleading impression that all illegal immigrants will be getting Social Security paychecks during a Clinton administration. We rate the statement Mostly False.” [PolitiFact, 8/24/16]
Tonight, Donald Trump deployed one of his typical scare tactics, stating, “We have no idea who they are, where they come from, there’s no documentation, there’s no paperwork, it’s going to end badly, folks.” Trump’s claim about the efficacy of the U.S. immigration system has been debunked, yet Trump continues to peddle lies in an effort to deceive the American people.
Don’t believe a word he says, folks.
LIE:
Donald Trump: “We are going to stop the tens of thousands of people coming in from Syria. We have no idea who they are, where they come from, there’s no documentation, there’s no paperwork, it’s going to end badly, folks, it’s going to end very, very badly.” [Trump Immigration Speech in Phoenix, Arizona, 8/31/16]
Donald Trump: “We have a dysfunctional immigration system which does not permit us to know who we let into our country.” “TRUMP: ‘We have a dysfunctional immigration system which does not permit us to know who we let into our country, and it does not permit us to protect our citizens.’” [Associated Press, 6/19/16]
THE TRUTH:
Associated Press: Donald Trump’s claim that “the U.S. doesn’t know who is being allowed into the country” is “demonstrably false.” “THE FACTS: Trump may be right on his overall description of the U.S. immigration system as ‘dysfunctional.’ It’s demonstrably false to say the U.S. doesn’t know who is being allowed into the country. Illegal immigration along the Mexican border remains a problem. Tens of thousands of unaccompanied children and people traveling as families, mostly from Central America, have arrived at the U.S. border this year. The U.S. still lacks a comprehensive exit system to determine more effectively who has stayed in the country after their visas have expired. But the U.S. government obviously knows who receives the government’s permission to legally immigrate into the country. Would-be immigrants, refugees and foreign tourists are all subjected to background checks and various forms of screening.” [Associated Press, 6/19/16]
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Trump began his campaign by calling Mexican immigrants “rapists.” When faced with backlash for his countless anti-Latino comments, he tweeted a tone-deaf, offensive picture of himself eating a taco bowl. Trump has treated Mexico, one of America’s allies, as an enemy, and has even said he wants “nothing to do with Mexico.”
This meeting could be quite uncomfortable. Beyond these offensive comments, Trump probably needs to ask about his plan for the Mexican government to pay for the wall he wants to build. We’ll see how that goes.
Donald Trump: “Happy #CincoDeMayo! The best taco bowls are made in Trump Tower Grill. I love Hispanics!” [Donald Trump, Twitter, 5/5/16]
Donald Trump: “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. […] They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.” “Thank you. It’s true, and these are the best and the finest. When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. 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. And some, I assume, are good people.” [Donald Trump, Presidential Announcement speech, 6/16/15]
Donald Trump: “Everything’s coming across the border. The illegals, the cars, the whole thing. It’s like a big mess, blegh. It’s like vomit.” “Everything’s coming across the border. The illegals, the cars, the whole thing. It’s like a big mess, blegh. It’s like vomit.” [Donald Trump remarks to Texas Patriots PAC, 4/30/15]
Donald Trump: “People are coming through the border that are really bad hombres and bad dudes and these are people that Mexico doesn’t want.” “You look at beautiful Kate [Steinle] and what’s going on like in San Francisco and Jamiel [Shaw] and so many people being killed and hurt badly. And people are coming through the border that are really bad hombres and bad dudes and these are people that Mexico doesn’t want and other countries where they come from, they don’t want them.” [Daily Ledger, 8/5/15]
Donald Trump said Mexico was sending criminals to the US in the same way Fidel Castro “opened up his prisons and sent his prisoners to the United States.” “Trump also tried to make a historical comparison, noting, ‘[Former Cuban leader Fidel] Castro, many years ago, opened up his prisons and sent his prisoners to the United States,’ which the candidate called a disaster for the America, before adding, ‘In a much more sophisticated manner, Mexico is [now] doing the same thing.’” [New York Magazine, 6/12/15]
Donald Trump on Mexican immigration: “They send the bad ones over because they don’t want to pay for them.” “Our leaders are stupid, our politicians are stupid, and the Mexican government is much smarter, much sharper, much more cunning, and they send the bad ones over because they don’t want to pay for them, they don’t want to take care of them. Why should they, when the stupid leaders of the United States will do it for them? And that’s what’s happening, whether you like it or not.” [Donald Trump, Fox News Presidential Debate, Cleveland, OH, 8/6/15]
Donald Trump: “You have illegal immigrants pouring through the country. They’re incarcerated, many of them are in jails. You have hundreds of thousands of people going to state and federal penitentiaries.” “DONALD TRUMP: No, I don’t apologize. Everybody knows what’s going on. You have illegal immigrants pouring through the country. They’re incarcerated, many of them are in jails. You have hundreds of thousands of people going to state and federal penitentiaries. That just came out in Homeland Security Report. You just have to take a look at them. The crime is rampant all over the place. You have the illegals just literally pouring — and not from Mexico only, they’re coming from all over the world. You have them all over South America, but they’re coming from the Middle East.” [Real Clear Politics, 7/1/15]
Donald Trump on the PGA tour happening in Mexico: “I hope they have kidnapping insurance.” TRUMP: “And I’m going to bring jobs back from Mexico and China and all these places. I mean, I just heard that the PGA tour is taking their tournament out of Miami and moving it to Mexico, as an example.” HANNITY: “Good grief.” TRUMP: “They’re taking it — it’s at Doral. It’s at — they use one of my places. They’re moving their tournament. It’s the Cadillac World Golf Championship. And Cadillac’s been a great sponsor, but they’re moving it to Mexico. They’re moving it to Mexico City, which, by the way, I hope they have kidnapping insurance. But they’re moving it to Mexico City.” [Fox News, 5/31/16]
Donald Trump, pointing to a plane flying above his campaign event: “That could be a Mexican plane up there — they’re getting ready to attack.” [Donald Trump, Manchester, NH, 6/30/16]
Donald Trump said that the border was “like an open sieve” that was allowing in “people that are sick and with contagious diseases, like tuberculosis.” VAN SUSTEREN: “Listen, I want to ask you about some things about President Obama’s request, $3.7 billion for the border. What do you think about that?” TRUMP: “I think the whole thing is ridiculous. It’s like an open sieve. People are just pouring in, all sorts of people. People that are sick and with contagious diseases, like tuberculosis, which is a real disaster. And what we are doing with this country is unthinkable. So, they are going there, and it’s a very — it’s a big humanitarian problem. There is no question about it. But they are all being dropped there because we are an open fence. We are an open door. We should just automatically say we have an open-door policy. Because, what’s going on is absolutely insane for this country. And, we owe, as you know, $17 trillion, Greta, $17 trillion. We can’t afford this. And they are only there because of the fact that we are saying, welcome, come in, and it’s not a good situation.” [Fox News On the Record, 7/11/14]
Donald Trump: “The Mexicans are the new China.” O’REILLY: “OK. I actually laughed when you said you’re going to build this giant wall from San Diego to Brownsville and the Mexicans are going to pay for it. The Mexicans aren’t going to pay for the wall.” TRUMP: “Let me tell you. The Mexicans are the new China. What they are doing to this country –” [Fox News’ O’Reilly Factor, 6/16/15]
Donald Trump: “Don’t do business with Mexico!” “I have a lawsuit in Mexico’s corrupt court system that I won but so far can’t collect. Don’t do business with Mexico!” [Donald Trump, Twitter, 2/24/15]
Donald Trump: “The Mexican legal system is corrupt, as is much of Mexico.” “The Mexican legal system is corrupt, as is much of Mexico. Pay me the money that is owed me now – and stop sending criminals over our border.” [Donald Trump, Twitter, 2/24/15]
Donald Trump: “Mexico’s totally corrupt gov’t looks horrible with El Chapo’s escape—totally corrupt. U.S. paid them $3 billion.” [Donald Trump, Twitter, 7/13/15]
Donald Trump: “Mexico is not our friend.” “They will pay for the wall. And the wall will go up and Mexico will start behaving. Mexico is not our friend.” [Fox News, 6/16/15]
Donald Trump: “Rodolfo Rosas Moya and his pals in Mexico owe me a lot of money. Disgusting & slow Mexico court system. Mexico is not a U.S. friend.” [Donald Trump, Twitter, 4/16/15]
Donald Trump: “They [Mexico] treat us like garbage at the border. They laugh at us.” “Two weeks ago, front page of the Wall Street Journal, big story on Mexico taking a tremendous — a billion-dollar car plant out of Tennessee. It was going to go to Tennessee, big German company. Was going to go to Tennessee, was all set. And then out of the blue, Mexico swiped it. They took it. They gave them all sorts of things. And now it’s being built in Mexico. More people employed. And then they treat us like garbage at the border. They laugh at us. They laugh at us.” [Trump remarks, FITN Republican Leadership Summit, 4/18/15]
Donald Trump appeared to indicate he could get congressional approval for “destroying Mexico.” TRUMP: They charge us tariffs. We don’t charge them because we’re stupid. They charge us. And the largest bank in the world is right under this floor. O’REILLY: Now you realize Congress is going to have to ok all this. They’re going to have to ok you destroying Mexico.They’re going to have to ok you for the tariff on China. TRUMP: Bill. O’REILLY: And you really think you’re going to get it through? TRUMP: Absolutely. I’ve been dealing with politicians all my life.” [Fox News, 6/17/15]
Donald Trump: “I want nothing to do with Mexico other than to build an impenetrable WALL.” “Mexico’s court system corrupt. I want nothing to do with Mexico other than to build an impenetrable WALL and stop them from ripping off U.S.” [Donald Trump, Twitter, 3/5/15]
Donald Trump: “Build a massive wall & deduct the costs from Mexican foreign aid.” “The border is wide open for cartels & terrorists. Secure our border now. Build a massive wall & deduct the costs from Mexican foreign aid!” [Donald Trump, Twitter, 3/30/15]
Donald Trump said his border wall with Mexico would help address the heroin epidemic in New Hampshire, because “you know where that stuff comes from.” “‘It’s amazing how many people bring that up,’ Trump answered. ‘I bet half the people have their hands up about heroin.’ Trump responded that he wants to take care of addicts using locally based clinics, and stop the source of the drug by walling off the border. ‘The problem of heroin in New Hampshire is unbelievable, it’s like an unbelievable problem that you have,’ Trump said. ‘And you know where that stuff comes from.’” [CBS, 11/11/15]
Donald Trump: “We have the anchor babies. I was right about the anchor babies. A woman’s pregnant, she steps across the border, she has a baby. Congratulations.” TRUMP: “We have the anchor babies. I was right about the anchor babies. A woman’s pregnant, she steps across the border, she has a baby. Congratulations. We take care of that baby for ninety years, or for however long the baby lives.” [Donald Trump, Town Hall, Nashua, NH, 1/29/16]
Donald Trump: “The illegals coming in are causing tremendous problems. In terms of crime, in terms of murder, in terms of rape.” TRUMP: “The illegals coming in are causing tremendous problems. In terms of crime, in terms of murder, in terms of rape, in terms of…” COOPER: I’m going to give you two studies. Northwestern University, cited by ‘The Washington Post,’ says essentially no correlation between illegal immigration and violent crime. Pew Research Center, using figures from the University of Massachusetts, found, quote, ‘the crime rate among first-generation immigrants, those who came to this country from somewhere else, significantly lower than the overall crime rate and that of the second generation.’” TRUMP: “If somebody is an illegal immigrant, they shouldn’t be here at all. There shouldn’t be any crime. They’re not supposed to be in our country. They’re not supposed to be — and I’m not just talking Mexico. They’re coming — excuse me, they’re coming from all over the world. I’m not just talking about Mexico.” [CNN, 7/8/15]
]]>Mexican political leaders have been remarkably blunt about how they feel about The Donald’s bigotry and insults. In fact, Trump’s bigoted rhetoric has drawn the strong condemnation of Mexico’s three most recent presidents. Peña Nieto has previously compared Trump’s candidacy to the rise of fascist dictators Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. Peña Nieto’s immediate predecessor Felipe Calderon has gone even further, saying Trump is “exploiting feelings like Hitler did in his time.” And this morning on CNN’s New Day, former Mexican President Vicente Fox said that Trump “is not welcome to Mexico…We don’t like him. We don’t want him. We reject his message.”
And about that wall? Calderon has said, “we are not going to pay any single cent for such a stupid wall!” Fox was even clearer: “I am not going to pay for that [expletive] wall.”
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto compared Donald Trump to Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. “Asked about Trump, Peña Nieto complained to the Excelsior newspaper about ‘these strident expressions that seek to propose very simple solutions’ and said that sort of language has led to ‘very fateful scenes in the history of humanity.’ ‘That’s the way Mussolini arrived and the way Hitler arrived,’ he said.” [The Washington Post, 3/7/16; Excelsior, 3/7/16]
Former Mexican President Felipe Calderon compared Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler. “‘This logic of praising the white supremacy is not just anti-immigration,’ Calderon said. ‘He is acting and speaking out against immigrants that have a different skin color than he does, it is frankly racist and [he is] exploiting feelings like Hitler did in his time,’ Calderon said.” [The Guardian, 2/27/16]
Former Mexican President Vicente Fox said Donald Trump reminded him of Adolf Hitler. FOX: “He [Donald Trump] says he’s going to bring back America to what it was? That’s crazy. Never before America, the United States, was so big, so strong, so powerful, so successful as it is today. He’s going to take that nation back to the old days of conflict, war and everything. I mean, he reminds me of Hitler the way he’s starting to speaking.” [CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, 2/26/16]
Former Mexican President Felipe Calderon: “Mexican people, we are not going to pay any single cent for such a stupid wall!” “‘Mexican people, we are not going to pay any single cent for such a stupid wall! And it’s going to be completely useless,’ Calderon said.” [CNBC, 2/8/16]
Former Mexican President Vicente Fox: “I am not going to pay for that f*cking wall.” Maria Bartiromo: “Which is why he thinks he’s going to be successful and Mexico is going to pay for the wall because he knows Mexico needs the U.S. when it comes to trade just the way the U.S. needs Mexico. Vincente Fox: “I have to say, we are not, I am not going to pay for that f*cking wall. I am not. And he should know that.” [Fox Business’s Mornings with Maria, 2/26/16]
Former Mexican President Vicente Fox: The U.S. “is going to fail if it goes into the hands of a crazy guy.” “Slamming Trump’s anti-immigration rhetoric and his campaign promise of building a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border, Fox urged Hispanics to ‘open their eyes.’ ‘Please, you Hispanics, Latinos in the U.S., open your eyes. It’s not to defend our race. Not to defend our creed. It’s to defend this very same nation that is hosting you. This nation is going to fail if it goes into the hands of a crazy guy,’ warned the former Mexican commander-in-chief.” [Fusion, 2/26/16]
Mexican Foreign Secretary Jose Antonio Meade remarked on ‘all the good things that Secretary Clinton has constructed for Mexico.’ Mexican Foreign Secretary Jose Antonio Meade: ‘Basically we’re wanting in this meeting to convey all the gratitude that we have for all the good things that Secretary Clinton has constructed for Mexico for the relationship. It’s a good time to take stock, it’s a good time to look where we are and what we can construct with her successor. But we basically wanted to thank her for what she has done for Mexico. She is very important and well loved.’ [Remarks with Mexican Foreign Secretary Jose Antonio Meade, state.gov, 1/30/13]
]]>“Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, tonight Donald Trump hit a new low, hurling outrageous insults–calling Hillary Clinton ‘a bigot.’ This is simply beyond the pale. Donald Trump has doubled down on his draconian immigration policies and condescendingly ‘reached out’ to communities of color by telling them they have nothing to lose. Donald Trump’s own campaign has been endorsed by white supremacists, unheard of in modern elections. He was even introduced by the Confederate flag-loving Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant and brought xenophobic (English) secessionist Nigel Farage up on stage. Donald Trump cannot stop hurling appalling and offensive statements—no ‘pivot’ can stop him now.”
