At an event aimed at touting economic policies that would usher in what his campaign called “a new era of American industrialism,” Donald Trump spent as much time talking about personal grievances and blaming immigrants for everything from fentanyl overdoses to crime to stealing American jobs as he did about the economy.
“This is a speech about economic development, but this is a big part of economic development,” the former president said of immigration at a rally in Savannah, Georgia, on Tuesday.
After sticking to prepared remarks about the economy for about 30 minutes, Trump’s speech frequently touched on other topics, including immigration, much to the delight of the audience.
As Trump said illegal immigration is the cause of countless evils, a man in the crowd yelled, “Close the border!”
The loudest cheers from the crowd of about 2,500 came when the Republican presidential nominee argued that the United States already has much of what he said is needed to become an “economic superpower” — natural resources, skilled workers and big businesses.
“The only thing we lack is smart people to lead this country,” Trump said.
As well as pledging to halve Americans’ energy bills and “prevent World War III”, Trump said he would revive American manufacturing and return it to “the way it was 50 years ago”. He also said he would block the sale of U.S. Steel to a Japanese company, which Joe Biden has said he plans to block.
The former president slammed electric cars, except for those made by his supporter Elon Musk, a strange tactic given that construction is underway on a $5.4 billion Hyundai electric vehicle factory that will employ 8,500 people and has been praised by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. Trump did not mention the plant or Kemp in his remarks.
Trump then shifted the conversation to immigration, questioned Kamala Harris’ intelligence and patriotism, and rehashed the assassination attempt in Pennsylvania in July and another horror attack in Florida earlier this month.
Trump argued that it wasn’t just luck that saved his life the day the assassin’s bullet grazed him.
“People say, ‘It’s God. God came down and saved you because he wants you to get your America back,'” Trump said as the crowd began chanting “USA!”
Finally, returning to economic issues, President Trump said his plan to give federal land to companies willing to build manufacturing facilities in the United States would encourage “entire industries” to relocate to the US.
Skip Newsletter Promotions
Subscribe to The Stakes — US Elections Edition
The Guardian guides you through the chaos of a crucial presidential election
Privacy Notice: Our newsletter may contain information about charities, online advertising and externally funded content. For more information, please see our privacy policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and are subject to the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
After newsletter promotion
He also said he would cap the corporate tax rate at 15%, but only for companies that manufacture their products in the United States. Trump and Republicans already lowered the top corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% when Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017. The top corporate tax rate was made permanent under that law, but the personal tax cuts included in the bill are set to expire in 2025. Both candidates have said they want to extend the tax cuts, but Harris has said she would raise the top rate to 28%.
Trump’s visit to Georgia will be his first since holding a rally in Atlanta on Aug. 3. Last month, Harris visited Savannah and held a rally that drew nearly 9,000 supporters.
Many of Trump’s economic policies are inextricably linked to his views on immigration, a line of attack that blames immigration for a weak economy and even inflation and the affordability of goods, that resonated with two supporters of the Republican candidate waiting to get into Trump’s event on Tuesday.
“We have so many immigrants here that the stores don’t have enough food,” said Christy Donley, who drove from nearby Pembroke to hear Trump speak. “We have Americans here who don’t have the American dream, and we’re giving it to illegal immigrants.”
Donley’s friend, Cathy Williams, also joined them.
“Loans, health insurance, driver’s licenses — we give all of these things to immigrants, whether they deserve it or not,” said Williams, who believes Trump’s proposed corporate tax cuts would help individual workers. “When he says he’s going to give tax cuts to corporations, I wish he’d explain that more. I understand it benefits everybody — it lowers unemployment and it raises tax revenue from our citizens — but not everyone understands that.”
