OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Former President Donald Trump drew another massive crowd to one of his campaign rallies, this time in Las Vegas on Sunday, even as temperatures topped 100 degrees and the National Weather Service issued heat advisory warnings.
Speaking at an outdoor event in a park about six miles from the Las Vegas Strip, Trump referred to Nevada, a key battleground state, as a “dumping ground” for illegal immigrants. He criticized President Joe Biden for creating a “nightmare” with his border policies, arguing that these policies were “totally destroying” Black and Hispanic Americans, according to Politico.
“The people of Nevada have had a front-row seat to Joe Biden’s evil and criminal obliteration of our southern border,” Trump told the crowd. “It was criminal what he’s done.”
The speech occurred just days after Biden announced his executive order to close the U.S.-Mexico border when daily crossings exceed 2,500 people. Trump criticized the order, labeling it a “little plan” and condemning it as supportive of invasion, child trafficking, women trafficking, human trafficking, drug dealers, and illegal immigration. He also highlighted instances of violent crimes allegedly committed by individuals who are in the U.S. without authorization.
“It’s weak, it’s ineffective, it’s bullshit what he signed,” Trump said before his supporters erupted into a chant of “Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit.”
On the same day he made these remarks, the Trump campaign rebranded its Latino outreach effort from “Latinos for Trump” to “Latino Americans for Trump.” The change comes in a state where Latinos represent a crucial and influential voting bloc and as Republicans continue to make inroads among Latino voters.
If re-elected, Trump has promised to implement mass deportations, end birthright citizenship, and reinstate his previous ban on entry to the U.S. from certain countries. Additionally, in February, he effectively urged Republicans in Congress to reject a bipartisan immigration deal supported by Biden because it would do nothing to control the border.
Fox News and the liberal media aren’t reporting on the size of this Trump Rally in Las Vegas, so you folks 👇know what to do
— Chicago1Ray 🇺🇸 (@Chicago1Ray) June 9, 2024
Trump, at one point on Sunday, referred to the first family as the “Biden crime family” and raised the fact that Biden kept classified documents after his vice presidency, though a special counsel did not recommend charges.
Biden won Nevada in 2020 by about 2.5 points. The last Republican president to win the state was George W. Bush some 20 years ago. However, most polling has Trump leading Biden in Nevada by 3-5 points.
Trump Rally in Vegas is so massive, Democrats are saying the attendees are Craigslist hires. PROJECTION MUCH? The Biden admin is so unpopular and pathetic they’re the ones actually paying influencers to support them. CRY MORE! pic.twitter.com/9Qy1YB362M
— Tex-Mex Trumpian (@TexicanTrumpian) June 9, 2024
PANORAMIC SHOT of President Trump’s record-breaking rally today in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The President estimated a crowd size of 20k — but that was only those in Sunset Park venue. Thousands more waited outside the park because the venue was absolutely packed! @RSBNetwork… pic.twitter.com/Mt4MicUBHv
— Paul Ingrassia (@PaulIngrassia) June 9, 2024
“If we win Nevada, we win the whole thing,” Trump said during his speech, which reports said lasted more than an hour.
And there was a new wrinkle to his campaign message: Trump committed to eliminating taxes on tips if elected, a pledge that received resounding applause in a state heavily dependent on tourism and hospitality for its economy. “We will throw out Bidenomics and replace it with MAGAnomics,” he said.
The Biden campaign responded with the usual claim that Trump will become a “dictator” — even as the Biden administration is leading a prosecution of his primary political opponent — while also claiming that Trump’s push for the Latino vote was falling flat.
According to a February poll by The New York Times and Siena College, Trump is leading Biden by six points among Latino voters. More recent polls have produced similar results.
