Donald Trump repeats the controversial statement ‘Poisoning the Blood’

• Trump emphasized the surge in migrant crossings at the US-Mexico border, particularly in September.
• The language was used in an interview with The National Pulse, a right-leaning website, in late September.
• The Anti-Defamation League rebuked the language, calling it “racist, xenophobic and despicable.”

Donald Trump stated on Saturday in New Hampshire that undocumented immigrants were “poisoning the blood of our country.”

This language, previously criticized as xenophobic and reminiscent of Nazi rhetoric, was repeated by Trump during a campaign event. He focused his remarks on the surge in migrant crossings at the US-Mexico border.

Trump reiterated his commitment to a tough stance on illegal immigration and a potential reduction in legal immigration if re-elected for a second term in office.

“They’re poisoning the blood of our country,” Trump told a rally in the city of Durham. Adding that immigrants were coming to the US from Asia and Africa in addition to South America. “All over the world, they are pouring into our country.”

Trump used the same “poisoning the blood” language during an interview with The National Pulse, a right-leaning website that was published in late September. It prompted a rebuke from the Anti-Defamation League, whose leader, Jonathan Greenblatt, called the language “racist, xenophobic and despicable.”

Jonathan Stanley, a Yale professor and author of a book on fascism, said Trump’s repeated use of that language was dangerous. He said “Trump’s words echoed the rhetoric of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, who warned against German blood being poisoned by Jews in his political treatise “Mein Kampf.”

“He is now employing this vocabulary in repetition in rallies. Repeating dangerous speech increases its normalization and the practices it recommends,” Staley said. “This is very concerning talk for the safety of immigrants in the US“

Back in October, Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, brushed off concerns about the former president’s language, calling the criticism “nonsensical.” He argued that comparable language could be found in books, news articles, and on television.

As of now, Cheung has not responded to a request for comment regarding Trump’s recent remarks on Saturday.