Donald Trump is supposed to be talking about the economy. It is the No.1 issue among voters, after all.
But the economy doesn’t quite have the same viral effect as an “invasion” of “illegal immigrants” and tall tales of Haitian migrants kidnapping and eating pet dogs and cats in the town of Springfield, Ohio.
Trump still has his talking points. On Monday, his campaign said the former president’s “unwavering commitment to putting America first is exactly what this country needs to restore our economy.”
But immigration is red meat to the Republican base in swing states where Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, are placing their bets to defeat Harris and Tim Walz on Election Day.
The Republican ticket has sharpened its darkly nativist rhetoric about immigrants. That’s especially true of the false conspiracy theories that Haitian migrants are abducting and eating resident’s pets. All of which packs political punch.
“Harris’ support for illegal immigration and soft-on-crime record are perhaps her biggest vulnerabilities, and polls show Americans agree more with Trump when it comes to enforcing immigration laws and deporting illegal immigrants,” Matt Wolking, the deputy communications director for Trump’s failed 2020 presidential campaign, told the Daily Beast.
He said Trump “still rightly focuses on the economy” but that “the polling is murkier there than on his signature issue.”
Indeed, Gallup polling suggests the number of Americans who want to slash immigration has skyrocketed.
At a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, Saturday, Trump insisted, “This election is about the economy,” before taking a sharp turn. “This election is about the border, that’s what it is. And I am your border president, your border president. Kamala would be your invasion president.”
He grew more animated when talking about undocumented immigrants committing violent crimes and slamming Democrats for their sanctuary cities than when talking about the economy. He was boisterous when he suggested emergency rooms are “overrun by migrants.” At one point, he combined the issues, blaming “illegal aliens” for taking jobs from Hispanic and Black Americans, as well as from union workers.
Harris is catching up to Trump in the polls on the question of who voters trust more to manage the economy. An August poll found her squeaking ahead of Trump on the question, the first time in almost a year that a Democratic presidential candidate is winning on that issue. And while some polls still show Trump with a sizable lead on the economy, others suggest the vice president has narrowed the gap to almost nothing.
Still, Republican message gurus would rather Trump stick with what works with the base.
“For the first time in a while, Trump is aggressively campaigning on the positive side of a poll-tested issue, and the vice president is finding herself on the defensive,” veteran GOP political communications strategist Ken Spain told the Daily Beast. “Should the president finally shift his messaging fire to the economy—the number one issue on the minds of voters—that would be a true man bites dog story.”
The bizarre human-eats-dog conspiracy that both Trump and Vance have perpetuated against Haitian Americans in Springfield, Ohio, has shuttered schools and upended everyday life for residents of the small town, where Trump has vowed to begin nationwide mass deportations of historic proportions if he is elected president again. All for a good cause, according to the Trump campaign.
“President Trump and Senator Vance are highlighting the failed immigration system that Kamala Harris has overseen, bringing thousands of illegal immigrants pouring into communities like Springfield and many others across the country,” Trump spokesman Steven Cheung told The New York Times.
