Trump Pins 2024 Election Hopes on Immigration, Downplays Economy as Key Issue

Donald J. Trump, in the final weeks of his 2024 campaign, is once again centering immigration as his key message. At a rally in Atlanta, Trump played a video montage of crimes allegedly committed by undocumented immigrants. Afterward, he reiterated what he has privately told his advisers: immigration is, in his view, the top issue of the upcoming election, surpassing even the economy.

"The United States is now an occupied country. But on Nov. 5, 2024, that will be liberation day in America," Trump declared to his supporters, emphasizing his belief that immigration won him the 2016 election. He claims the issue wasn't as potent in 2020 due to decreased border crossings during the pandemic, but sees it as a stronger message now, citing record levels of crossings under the Biden-Harris administration, according to The New York Times.

While Trump insists immigration will dominate the election, polls consistently show voters prioritize the economy and the rising cost of living. Despite advisers urging him to focus on economic issues, Trump remains driven by the energy he gets from his rallies, where immigration elicits a more animated response than his economic proposals.

Recently, Trump has tied his opposition to illegal immigration to personal experiences, claiming that a chart of border crossings "saved his life" during a near-assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. This narrative has only reinforced his commitment to the issue.

Some advisers, like Stephen Miller, fully support Trump's emphasis on immigration, while others worry that extreme rhetoric, such as unsubstantiated claims about Haitian migrants, could alienate moderate voters, as reported by the outlet. Last month, Trump considered visiting Springfield, Ohio, where he had spread rumors about Haitian immigrants. However, local Republican officials, including Governor Mike DeWine, urged him to stay away after threats against the community escalated.

Instead, Trump delivered a speech in Aurora, Colorado, a non-battleground state, focusing on immigration and proposing the use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport gang leaders. Even when discussing economic issues like housing costs, Trump links them back to immigration, arguing that mass deportations would lower housing prices by increasing supply.

In response to questions about Trump's focus on immigration, campaign spokesman Brian Hughes said Trump sees the border as central to many of the country's challenges, from housing prices to overwhelmed public services.

Trump's repeated focus on immigration as a core issue in his 2024 campaign echoes a sentiment found in a recent survey conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) in partnership with the Brookings Institution. One in three Americans believe that immigrants entering the country illegally are "poisoning the blood of our country". This phrase, used by Trump and linked to white supremacist ideologies, reflects a growing acceptance of such language within political discourse. The poll underscores the deepening political divides in the U.S., especially among Trump supporters, who appear to resonate more with this extreme rhetoric.

Despite the rhetoric, most of which aimed at the Latino community, a recent The New York Times/Siena College poll revealed that most members of the demographic in the country don't think the inflammatory statements are directed at them.

Concretely, two-thirds of those surveyed said they believed Trump was not referring to people like them when he spoke about immigrants, while 50% of foreign-born Latino voters feel the same way.