Republican frontrunner for US Presidential elections, Donald Trump has yet again repeated the controversial 'poisoning blood' remark while addressing the issue of illegal immigrants during one of his rallies. Speaking against the rising number of migrants attempting to cross the US border illegally, Trump said he would restrict legal immigration if elected to the White House for a second term next year, reported Reuters.
"They're poisoning the blood of our country," Trump told a rally in New Hampshire. He said 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," the former US President said, quoted Reuters.
His comments have been previously criticised as xenophobic and echoed Nazi rhetoric, the report added. It said that Trump earlier used the "poisoning the blood" language during an interview with The National Pulse, a right-leaning website. Then, Anti-Defamation League's leader, Jonathan Greenblatt called the language "racist, xenophobic and despicable."
However, Trump's campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung had earlier dismissed these criticisms as "nonsensical" and argued that similar language was prevalent in books, news articles and on TV, Reuters added.
When asked about the recent repeat of the comment by Trump, Cheung did not directly address the question and instead referred to the controversies over how US colleges are handling campus protests since Hamas' attack on Israel.
He alleged that media and academia have given "safe haven for dangerous anti-Semitic and pro-Hamas rhetoric that is both dangerous and alarming."
Notably, the "poisoning the blood of our country" remark was not mentioned in Trump's prepared comments that were distributed to media prior to Saturday's event.
Donald Trump is the leading candidate for the Republican Party's 2024 presidential nomination. Meanwhile, incumbent President Joe Biden, who is also running for another term has sought to enact more humane and orderly immigration policies but has struggled with record levels of migrants.
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