Immigration center stage at Trump’s PA rally as he energizes supporters on election eve
Donald Trump continued to lean heavily into his anti-immigrant rhetoric at a rally in Reading, on the eve of Election Day, telling his supporters that Kamala Harris has “eradicated” the southern border.
“They're taking over your towns, your schools, your hospitals,” Trump said, referring to migrants.
He later added that, “The United States is now an occupied country, but it will soon be an occupied country no longer.”
Trump and Harris barnstormed Pennsylvania on Monday as most recent polls but them in a dead heat for the critical swing state and its 19 electoral votes. Both had planned rallies in Pittsburgh, and Harris spoke to supporters in nearby Allentown, and was set to end the day with a concert in Philadelphia.
Immigration continues to be at the forefront of Trump's message to voters.
Under President Joe Biden, illegal border crossings reached record highs, averaging more than 2 million per year from 2021 to 2023, according to Customs and Border Protection. But more recently, illegal crossings – or “encounters” – at the southern border fell to the lowest total in nearly four years only months after Biden announced broad restrictions on asylum.
Trump also claimed that migrant crime has been “as vicious as there's ever been.” But data analyzed between 2012 to 2022 found that undocumented immigrants have a homicide conviction rate 14% below that of native-born Americans. Immigrants have a 62% lower homicide rate and undocumented immigrants have a 41% lower total criminal conviction rate than native-born Americans.
Trump also claimed at the rally in Reading that Harris ‘copied’ his routine on Saturday Night Live after she came onto the show just three days before the Nov. 5 election.
“She uses everything I do. She uses…even Saturday Night Live they copied. They copied. Think of that. Saturday, oh she was great on - they copied my routine, I did it a long time ago, they copied the same routine. I think I did it better, actually. I don’t think - I think anybody could’ve done it. I think anybody could’ve done it better,” Trump said.
During the show, comedian Maya Rudolph, who portrayed Harris, spoke to the real Harris through an empty vanity mirror. The two wore a similar suit and necklace, and Harris offered campaign advice to Rudolph.
In 2015 on “The Tonight Show,” Trump and comedian Jimmy Fallon did something similar. Fallon portrayed Trump, who spoke to the real Republican presidential candidate through a vanity mirror. Both also wore matching suits.