Donald Trump, undisputed favorite for the Republican nomination in the 2024 US presidential election, claimed on Saturday that illegal immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country”, using xenophobic language reminiscent of Nazi hate speech.

Trump’s racist comments came at a campaign rally in New Hampshire, where the Republican tycoon denounced the record number of immigrants attempting to cross the US border illegally. He pledged to crack down on illegal immigration and impose restrictions on the entry of legal immigrants if he secures a second term in the White House.

“They are poisoning the blood of our country,” Trump told thousands of supporters in the city of Durham. “They come from every corner of the world and overwhelm our country,” he added.

The claim that illegal immigrants are “poisoning the blood” of the country was used by Trump again in an interview he gave to The National Pulse website in late September. It had been criticized by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a Jewish NGO that fights anti-Semitism and extremism. ADL leader Jonathan Greenblatt called the comment “racist, xenophobic and despicable.”

Jason Stanley, a Yale University professor and author of a book on fascism, warned that Trump’s rhetoric is dangerous. He said it echoed the rhetoric of Adolf Hitler, who warned that German blood was being poisoned by Jews in his political manifesto Mein Kampf. “He repeatedly uses this phraseology at rallies. The repetition of dangerous language contributes to its normalization, as well as (the acceptance of) its recommended practices,” explains Professor Stanley, underlining that it is “very concerning” for the safety of irregular immigrants in the US.

In October, a spokesman for the Republican tycoon’s campaign staff dismissed criticism of Donald Trump’s rhetoric as “nonsense.” Stephen Chung pointed out that similar expressions are often used in books, publications and television programs.

Asked again on Saturday, Chung avoided addressing Donald Trump’s remarks and instead criticized media and academics in the US for offering “sanctuary” to anti-Israel and pro-Hamas rhetoric, which he called “dangerous and worrisome.” .

In the context of his election campaign, Donald Trump has repeatedly used incendiary speech to embellish the policy followed by Democratic US President Joe Biden on immigration. On Saturday, he adapted the lyrics of a song to liken illegal immigrants to… deadly snakes.

If re-elected US president, Trump has promised to end the country’s “invasion of the southern border” and begin “the largest deportation operation” of illegal immigrants in American history.