Donald Trump returns to AZ at the college court on the ASU campus in Tempe

Former President Donald Trump claimed during a rally in Arizona on Thursday that the country is overrun by a “migrant invasion” and vowed to “liberate” the United States if he is returned to the White House next month.

“We need to get those animals out of here quickly,” Trump said, referring to migrants who commit violent crimes. “The United States is now an occupied country, but soon it will no longer be an occupied country.”

Trump directly blamed Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic rival for the White House, whom he criticized as “a person with a low IQ” and said should be “disqualified” from running the country.

“She has eradicated our sovereign border and unleashed an army of migrant gangs waging a campaign of violence and terror against our citizens,” Trump said. “My message today is very simple. Kamala’s immigrant invasion, given to us through gross incompetence, disqualifies her from even thinking about the president.”

Trump was in Arizona on Thursday to rally voters ahead of the fast-approaching Election Day. It was Trump’s fifth visit to the crucial southwestern battleground this year and came just 12 days before votes were to be counted on November 5.

Trump narrowly leads Harris in Arizona presidential polls, and both campaigns expect the election to be decided by a slim margin.

Trump’s visit comes amid a flurry of campaign events, rallies and visits by politicians in Arizona this week. President Joe Biden was scheduled to fly into Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport Thursday afternoon.

Trump came under fire this week after his former White House chief of staff claimed Trump said “Hitler did some good things.”

The comments, reported by The New York Times, prompted Harris to call him a “fascist.”

Trump took the stage at 2:34 p.m. at Mullett Arena on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe. He focused largely on immigration during his remarks and argued that migrants are taking jobs away from black and Hispanic workers in Arizona.

“Hispanics and blacks are losing their jobs, and it makes sense to have millions of people coming in,” Trump said. “It started with the black and Hispanic populations. And we just won’t let it happen. It’s so shameful.”

Trump’s comments came as he seeks to appeal to young men, particularly young black and Hispanic voters. Trump leads Harris among Hispanic male voters under 50 in Arizona, polls show.

Trump also recounted several stories of violent crimes by migrants and said Harris was responsible for the “bloodshed.”

Encounters with migrants at the southern border have reached record levels during the Biden administration, reaching nearly 250,000 encounters at their peak in December 2023. The numbers fell sharply in the summer after Biden signed an executive order limiting asylum.

Migrant arrests have dropped 55 percent since June, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Before coming to the university town of Tempe on Thursday, Trump’s Arizona campaign trips included a rally at Dream City Church in Phoenix in June, an August swing that included a Glendale rally and a trip to the southern border, a rally in Tucson in September and most recently a rally in Prescott Valley.

Trump told the crowd that he watched his opponents’ media appearances, calling Harris’ CNN town hall “an incoherent accident of a television interview.”

He also hit out at President Joe Biden, who said in New Hampshire this week that “we have to shut him down,” referring to Trump. After a brief pause, Biden clarified that he meant “shut him down politically. Lock him out.”

“He’s such a stupid guy,” Trump said.

The Harris campaign responded to Trump’s visit by touting her support from a coalition of Arizona Republicans and independents.

“Those who know Donald Trump best are sounding the alarm about the risk he poses to the safety, security and future of our country and democracy — which is why a record number of Republicans and independents in Arizona are putting the country across the party and support the vice president. Harris. Trump wants unchecked power, and it’s up to the voters of Arizona to decide whether they’ll let him take it,” said James Martin, the Arizona campaign’s director of rapid response coordination, in a written statement.

Trump allies lament ‘nation in decline’

Several of Trump’s allies helped warm up the crowd before his appearance in Tempe. They painted a dark picture of a nation overrun by migrant-led violence, even though studies show migrants are no more likely than US-born Americans to commit crimes.

Trump’s top campaign adviser, Stephen Miller, vowed that Trump would “send home every last criminal gang, every last criminal migrant, every last threat that crossed our border to prey on the people of this state.”

Miller was a senior immigration adviser during Trump’s time in the White House, helping implement the “zero tolerance” policy that separated families at the US-Mexico border.

In the current election cycle, Miller proposed building mass deportation camps to help fulfill Trump’s promise of “the largest domestic deportation operation in American history,” which Trump said would involve the military.

Entrepreneur and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy brought the crowd to its feet with a rousing speech that framed the election in existential terms.

“We are a nation in decline. This is what I have become. But it doesn’t have to stay that way.”

The crowd stood as he declared: “2024 is our 1776.”

“Either you believe in American exceptionalism or you believe in apologizing for who we are. You cannot have both,” said Ramaswamy.

Rep. U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., returned to the topic of crime during heated remarks that criticized the American left. Biggs called Harris and Democrats “a bunch of liars” and suggested data coming from authorities, showing a drop in crimeit is not accurate.

Biggs addressed the “Hitler” controversy on stage at the rally, saying Democrats are calling Trump a “Nazi” to try to hurt him politically.

Kari Lake Says Bill Clinton’s Comment That She’s ‘Physically Attractive’

On stage, Trump asked voters to support Kari Lake, the Republican candidate for the US Senate from Arizona.

Lake is a Trump ally, though her relationship with the former president has he seems to have caught a cold as her prospects of winning the Senate race appear slim. Gallego has the leadership in most public surveys.

At a campaign event in Phoenix the day before, former President Bill Clinton commented that Lake is “physically attractive”. Lake spoke on stage before Trump’s rally.

“As a middle-aged woman, I’m flattered,” Lake said.

“I thought I was a little too old for him. Doesn’t he like interns?”