OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Former President Donald Trump on Saturday made a pledge to reintroduce his strict immigration and border enforcement policies on his first day back in the Oval Office if he wins the 2024 race.
At a low-key campaign event in South Carolina, Trump pledged to very quickly return illegal crossers back across the border.
“Trump spoke about the border crisis that has exponentially worsened during the Biden administration. He echoed past statements that other countries aren’t sending their best when it comes to the migrant surge and said the situation needs to get “straightened out fast,” The Political Insider reported.
“They’re sending people that are killers, murderers, they’re sending rapists, and they’re sending, frankly, terrorists or terrorists are coming on their own, and frankly, we can’t allow this to happen,” Trump told the audience in a clip posted online.
“So the illegal border crossers are going to be sent straight back home,” he added. “Those bad ones, especially, and they’re gonna go fast.”
BREAKING: "We have to remove a lot of people very, very fast…They're sending people that are killers, murders. They're sending rapists”pic.twitter.com/DpPiFKBd8f
— Jack Posobiec 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) January 28, 2023
At the same event, South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who has been a major ally of the former president, also spoke and said that there are no “Trump policies” without Trump.
“Well, he did it once, he can do it again — isn’t that why we’re here?” Graham said, as reported by Newsmax.
“There is one thing I want to talk to you about. How many have you heard: ‘We like Trump’s policies, but we want somebody new?’
“There are no Trump policies without Donald Trump,” Graham continued. “I was there!”
“You know why $400 billion was given by NATO nations? Because he asked, and they were afraid to say no. Every president since I’ve been up there has asked NATO to give more money, but they gave more money when he asked,” Graham continued.
“People talk about China. You did something about China. They finally paid. Everybody’s been talking about China. You made them pay. You know why Mexico said yes to you? Because you scared the hell out of them by taking on China,” Graham noted further.
“You know why the Abraham Accords came about? It’s because you convinced the Arabs and the Israelis you were strong and you’re reliable. You killed the terrorists that needed to be killed. You convinced the Arabs to work with the Israelis. And the world was a better place. We live in a dangerous world right now,” the GOP senator continued.
At one point, Newsmax reported, Graham was heckled by someone in the crowd, but he remained undaunted.
“The good news for the Republican Party, there are many talented people for years to come, but there is only one Donald Trump,” Graham continued. “And I say this sincerely: You can talk about his policies, but you could not do what he did.”
Another South Carolina politician, former Gov. Nikki Haley, who served as Trump’s UN Ambassador, will announce later this month she will run for the GOP nomination as well.
In a separate report, Newsmax noted:
Haley, 51, served as South Carolina’s governor for six years before serving as President Donald Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations. When she enters the race, Haley will be the first contender to join the contest against her former boss, who is currently the sole Republican seeking his party’s 2024 nomination.
Trump was in South Carolina Saturday for the initial campaign swing of his 2024 campaign, standing alongside Gov. Henry McMaster — who served as Haley’s lieutenant governor — and several GOP members of the state’s delegation, part of his leadership team in the early-voting state.
“During the Trump administration, Haley feuded at times with other White House officials while bolstering her own public persona. Her 2018 departure fueled speculation that she would challenge Trump in 2020, or replace Vice President Mike Pence on the ticket, but Haley did neither,” the outlet continued.
In 2021, Haley told The Associated Press that she “would not run if President Trump ran,” but she has since shifted course, bolstering her political activities via her Stand for America nonprofit and political action committee while also endorsing dozens of candidates in the 2022 midterm elections.
