CNN anchor Jim Acosta held former President Donald Trump’s feet to the fire over comments he made about Immigrants “poisoning the blood of our country.”
During a New Hampshire campaign rally on Saturday, the Republican frontrunner railed against the number of illegal crossing as the U.S.-Mexico border, claiming Democrats are letting people from “all over the world” enter the U.S. who are “poisoning the blood of our country.”
Acosta covered Trump’s remarks during his Saturday evening newscast along with CNN’s Steve Contorno, noting that his rhetoric is “often employed by white supremacists.” Contorno added that Trump’s remarks were “particularly dark” and have previously been “roundly criticized by civil rights leaders.”
ACOSTA: Former President Donald Trump took his anti-immigration rhetoric to a shocking new level Today at a rally in New Hampshire, he said that immigrants are, quote, poisoning the blood of our country using language that is often employed by white supremacists. CNN’s Steve Cantor now joins us with more Steve. Sounds like some some of the stuff that we’ve heard from Trump before, but it was really kind of on steroids today, the way he was doubling down, tripling down and adding some really insensitive layers to his usual rhetoric. What more can you tell us?CONTORNO: Yeah, that’s right, Jim. In some ways it felt like if you
would be forgiven if you thought you had walked into a Trump rally in 2015 and not 2023, because so many of the themes were reticent of the kind of language she was using eight years ago. And when it came to discussing undocumented Americans in general and undocumented migrants, it was particularly dark and often using this language that has been adopted by by white nationalist groups and roundly criticized by civil rights leaders. And this is something we have heard more and more from him lately as he gets closer and closer to this campaign and people starting to actually vote.
The anchor then asked Contorno if other Republican candidates have condemned Trump for his comments, labeling them “racist” and “nativist.”
Back in September, Trump made a similar remark regarding immigrants “poisoning the blood” of America. At the time, Jonathan Greenblatt, the president of the Anti-Defamation League, labeled his comments “racist, xenophobic and despicable.”
Since launching Republican political career back in 2015, Trump has used inflammatory remarks to condemn illegal immigration; however, his continued usage of “poisoning the blood” is a remark often echoed by white nationalists. According to CNN, Adolf Hitler ranted about the “contamination of the blood” in Mein Kampf.
Watch the full clip above via CNN.