In his Phoenix remarks, which largely focused on immigration, Trump claimed that he’s raised a whopping $400 million since last week’s guilty verdict in his Manhattan hush money trial before going after his 81-year-old 2024 opponent.
“Just this week, two brave officers of the New York Police Department were shot in Queens by a Biden migrant who Crooked Joe released into our country,” Trump said in prepared remarks at the town hall event.
“This monster infiltrated from Venezuela, and was quickly given administrative amnesty by Joe Biden, along with a taxpayer-funded hotel room while he engaged in multiple suspected robberies, before shooting two of New York’s Finest,” the 77-year-old presumptive Republican nominee for president added.
The accused shooter, Bernardo Raul Castro Mata, was arraigned on attempted murder charges Wednesday.
Police say Mata shot Officer Richard Yarusso, 26, in the chest at “point-blank range” before shooting and striking Officer Christopher Abreu, 26, in the leg as the cops tried to apprehend him after he fled on foot from a traffic stop.
Mata was shot in the ankle by police before he was taken into custody.
Mata — who illegally entered the US in Texas last July — is believed to be a member of the violent Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, which now has a presence in the Big Apple.
Trump suggested that Venezuela has taken advantage of Biden’s border policies by exporting violent criminals to the US.
“Under Biden, the world is emptying out their prisons, insane asylums, and mental institutions — and sending us their most vicious criminals, savage gang members and sadistic cartels,” he said.
“In Venezuela, violent crime is down 67%,” Trump claimed.
“In everything he does, Joe Biden puts illegal aliens first, he puts the cartels first, he puts the open borders lunatics first — while he betrays American citizens,” Trump argued.
The former president vowed to put “African Americans first, Hispanic Americans first” and “all Americans first” if elected to a second term in the White House.
In his remarks, Trump laid out his “day one” agenda to combat the migrant crisis, which includes rescinding Biden’s recent executive order on immigration and scrapping the controversial CBP One immigration app.
The former president vowed to put “African Americans first, Hispanic Americans first” and “all Americans first” if elected to a second term in the White House.
He also vowed to shift “massive portions” of federal law enforcement to enforce immigration laws; deploy the US Navy to “impose a full blockade of the cartels and deny them access to the waterways of our region” and move “thousands of troops currently stationed overseas” to the US-Mexico border.
Trump also said he would launch “the largest domestic deportation operation in the history of our country” on the day of his inauguration.
“Biden wants an invasion – I want a deportation,” Trump declared.