CNN anchor Jake Tapper cut into former President Donald Trump’s victory speech — following Monday evening’s Iowa caucuses, which Trump won decisively — to complain about what he said was “anti-immigrant rhetoric.”
Trump, who finished the night with 51% of the vote — followed by Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) with 21% and former Governor Nikki Haley (R-SC) with 19% — gave a speech from Des Moines, during which he addressed the illegal immigration crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.
WATCH:
CNN's Jake Tapper cuts away from former President Trump's Iowa victory speech immediately after he started talking about President Biden's border crisis.
"Here he is, right now, under my voice. You can hear him repeating his anti-immigrant rhetoric," he decried. pic.twitter.com/1FRLfyj62H— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) January 16, 2024
“We’re going to seal up the border,” Trump said to applause. “Because right now we have an invasion. An invasion of millions and millions of people that are coming into our country. I can’t imagine why they think that’s a good thing …”
Tapper broke in then, speaking over the live feed from Des Moines, saying, “Donald Trump declaring victory with a historically strong showing in the Iowa Caucuses if these numbers hold — the biggest victory for a non-incumbent president in the modern era for this contest.”
“A relatively subdued speech as these things go so far, although here he is right now, under my voice, you hear him repeating his anti-immigrant rhetoric,” Tapper continued.
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Much of Trump’s focus on the campaign trail has been aimed at the ongoing border crisis, which he says has only been exacerbated by President Joe Biden and his administration’s policies — an assertion that appears to have been borne out over and over again by month after month of record high border crossings.
According to the most recent data, more than 300,000 illegal immigrant encounters were recorded at the border in the month of December alone — the highest one-month total on record — and thousands more migrants were believed to have crossed without being spotted.
Despite attempts from Democrats and media to assert otherwise — claiming that he is anti-immigrant across the board — former President Trump has been clear that his criticism is directed at the porous southern border and those who cross it illegally rather than at those who choose to come to the United States through legal channels.