Biden hits Trump for rhetoric on migrants at Hispanic Heritage Month celebration
President Biden on Wednesday hit former President Trump for his rhetoric on migrants during a celebration at the White House to mark Hispanic Heritage Month.
“We don’t demonize immigrants, we don’t single them out for attacks, we don’t believe they’re ‘poisoning the blood’ of the country. We’re a nation of immigrants and that’s why we’re so damn strong,” Biden said to a room full of Latinos at the reception.
“Hispanic history is American history,” Biden added. “And by the way, a lot of you all have been here a hell of a lot longer than a lot of the rest of us, in America.”
The president also suggested that the Republican Party and Trump are closed-minded, while never mentioning his former political rival by name.
“This is the single most consequential election, maybe in the lifetime of anyone standing here, because it matters. The other team doesn’t see the world like we see it. They don’t have the same attitude we have. They are the most closed-minded people I’ve ever dealt with,” he said.
Biden said in his remarks that his family came from Ireland and noted the discrimination they received when they immigrated to the United States.
“If you go back and look, Irish Catholics were discriminated against as much as any other group of people that ever came to this country, but guess what? We’re proud as hell for what we’ve done and all of you, protecting our fundamental freedoms,” he said.
Trump in December said that immigrants are “poisoning the blood” of America, adding at the time that they pose an increased terrorism risk and equated the influx of migrants at the southern border to an invasion.
The Anti-Defamation League and others have said Trump’s “poisoning the blood” remarks echoes the rhetoric of Adolf Hitler, who wrote in “Mein Kampf” that German blood was being poisoned by Jews.
When Biden was running for president before dropping out of the race and endorsing Vice President Harris, his campaign unveiled a Latino-focused ad calling out Trump for his rhetoric and included audio of Trump saying immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country.”