Trump attacks Harris, Democrats at rally in Atlanta

Former President Donald Trump rallies in Atlanta, targeting Democrats, illegal migration, and media, emphasising economic policies and attacking opponents

With a week to go for Election Day, Republican candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump leaned into familiar themes at an election rally at Georgia Tech, Atlanta, capital of the crucial battleground state.

Mr. Trump spoke of the U.S. being overrun by dangerous criminal illegal migrants, made multiple derisive references to his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris and called the media present at the rally “fake news”. He characterised the election as a battle against the “radical left machine”, and said he would tackle inflation and end the wars in West Asia and Europe.

Mr. Trump mentioned his economic message of cutting taxes and tackling inflation, in passing, as he spent most of the evening talking about the Democrats, Ms. Harris and illegal migration.

Mr. Trump showed the crowd a video narrated by the mother of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray of Houston who was killed in June. Two undocumented Venezuelan men were charged with her murder. The case has frequently been referenced by Republicans who blame the Biden administration policies (and more recently, Ms. Harris) for the death.

On Monday (October 28, 2024), Mr. Trump disparaged Ms. Harris, questioning her intellectual acumen, calling her a “low IQ individual”, a “train wreck” and other names.

He also took a shot at former First Lady Michelle Obama, who had tough words for Mr. Trump during a Saturday (October 26, 2024) evening speech in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

“I always tried to be so nice and respectful,” he said, adding, “She opened up a little bit of a box. She was nasty. That was a big mistake.”

At one point when Mr. Trump was talking about Ms. Harris, the crowd chanted, “Lock her up, lock her up.”

“Be nice,” Mr. Trump said. When the crowd at his election rallies in previous years had asked him to lock up his former Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton, Mr. Trump said he could have done so as President but decided not to since it would be bad for the country since Ms. Clinton was the former First Lady and Secretary of State.

Mr. Trump’s Atlanta speech came 24 hours after a rally in Madison Square Garden, New York, which some Democrats had likened, last week, to a Nazi rally held at the same venue in 1939. The rally was criticised for racist comments by some of the speakers who opened the evening, including a comedian.

“I’m not a Nazi. I’m the opposite of a Nazi,” Mr. Trump said on Monday (October 28, 2024).

With reference to Ms. Harris and U.S. President Joe Biden, Mr. Trump said, “We’re running against something far become far more powerful than them, which is a massive, vicious, crooked, radical left machine that runs today’s Democrat Party.”

Published - October 29, 2024 10:30 am IST