- Trump criticized undocumented immigrants at fundraiser
- Warned of U.S. collapse if Harris wins
- Event raised $12 million for his campaign
During a private fundraising dinner last summer, Donald Trump launched a foul-mouthed tirade against undocumented immigrants. He predicted this “could be the last election we ever have” if Kamala Harris wins.
The Guardian received a 12-minute tape of the Republican presidential nominee’s speech at a dinner on August 10 in Aspen, Colorado, where attendees were obliged to donate between $25,000 and $500,000 per pair.
Trump spent most of his speech on border security and immigration, repeating xenophobic comments heard at his rallies. Radical leftwing lunatics” want people to come in from prisons, mental institutions, and insane asylums, he claimed without evidence, adding that the US was harbouring “a record number of terrorists.
The former president claimed that “smart, very streetwise” officials in Venezuela and other South American countries were sending murderers and drug traffickers to the United States to lower their crime rates, relieve the pressure on their prisons, and save money.
Trump used a fictitious example of 22 persons who he claimed had travelled to the US after being freed from prison in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. “We asked, ‘Where do you come from?'” They said ‘prison’. What did you do? It’s none of your fucking business what we did. Do you know why? “Because they are murderers.”
The candidate said, “I hate to use that foul language,” implying that his use of the F-word extended beyond his campaign rallies. The Congolese government has denied Trump’s claims.
The candidate continued: “These are the toughest folks. These individuals are streaming in from Africa and the Middle East. They’re coming in from throughout Asia, from the nasty areas to the rough portions, and the only positive thing about them is that they make our criminals appear nice. They make our Hell’s Angels seem like the nicest guys on the planet.”
According to studies, immigrants are less likely than native-born Americans to commit crimes.
Trump flew to Aspen in a Gulfstream G-550 jet once owned by Jeffrey Epstein, the late disgraced financier and convicted sex offender, when his private plane, a Boeing 757 known popularly as Trump Force One, developed engine problems.
The meal was held in the $38 million house of financiers and art collectors John and Amy Phelan. Guests included casino magnate Steve Wynn, millionaire businessman Thomas Peterffy, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Florida Congressman Byron Donalds, Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, and former Colorado Senator Cory Gardner.
Trump, who attempted a coup on January 6, 2021, and has claimed that his Democratic competitor Harris is the ultimate threat to democracy, used the special event to warn of catastrophic repercussions if she is elected president.
“Look, we gotta win, and if we don’t win, this country’s going to hell,” he told reporters. “You know, there’s an expression, this could be the last election we ever have, and it’s an expression that I believe, and I believe that this could be the last election we ever have.”
The former president was speaking a month before his first and likely only televised debate with Harris, in which opinion polls and experts universally regarded her as the clear winner. That wasn’t what he expected.
“I’m telling you, we have an extreme left person running for president, and if she wins, it’ll be a nightmare; she wants to be president so desperately. Thank goodness she’s known to be terrible at debate despite her vicious personality, and she’s considered quite lousy at interviewing. “She is unable to conduct an interview.
Trump also said Harris supports the “defund the police” campaign, implying that she is a typical politician who will go back to type if elected.
“Her policy is to defund the police.” She wants to defund the police. She favours open borders. With a politician – and I’ve seen it because I’ve been on both sides of politics for a long time; now, only a little time on this side, but I’ve always contributed – she wants to go out and defund the cops. And they always return to their original storyline. “They always do.”
Harris, a former courtroom prosecutor, expressed support for the “defund the police” campaign during a radio appearance in June 2020 but modified her views after becoming Joe Biden’s running mate.
Trump also spoke of surviving an assassination attempt at a July event in Butler, Pennsylvania, when 20-year-old Thomas Crooks opened fire from a rooftop, killing firefighter Corey Comperatore, 50, and wounding two other Trump supporters.
Trump described how his Florida golf club member, Mar-a-Lago, requested a donation to Comperatore’s family. “I replied definitely, and they offered me a million-dollar check. That is a lot of money. Perhaps even more amazingly, we launched a GoFundMe campaign and generated more than $6 million for the victims, essentially three people.”
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Then, recalling a visit with Comperatore’s widow, Helen, he risked finding humour in the tragedy. “very they’re going to get millions of dollars, but the woman, the wife, this lovely woman, I handed her the check – we gave her the check – and she said, ‘This is very nice, and I appreciate it, but I’d much rather have my husband.’ Now, I understand that some women in this room might disagree.
As dinner guests laughed, Trump joked, “I know at least four couples.” I know four couples, Governor [Abbott], and you are not one of them. At least four couples here would have been overjoyed.”
The event is thought to have raised $12 million for Trump’s campaign, but more was needed to prevent Harris from generating more than four times as much as her opponent in August, the first month of her campaign.
