President Donald Trump reiterated his campaign opening comments on Mexican rapists by speaking about high levels of rape of migrant women.
Trump made his remarks at a tax roundtable talk in White Sulphur Spings, West Virginia, during which he ditched his prepared remarks as “boring”.
Trump just threw his tax reform notes over his shoulder. “This is boring,” he said. pic.twitter.com/gzy03HiPds
— Christina Wilkie (@christinawilkie) April 5, 2018
Buzzfeed’s Tom Namako posted a video clip and transcript of Trump’s remarks:
“Trump reprises “Mexicans are rapists” comments: “Remember my opening remarks at trump power when I opened. Everybody said, oh, he was so tough. I used the word rape. Yesterday it came out where this journey coming up, women are raped at levels that nobody has ever seen before.”
https://twitter.com/TomNamako/status/981963905105874949
ABC News posted a different edit where Trump concludes with saying we have to change our laws and saying he doesn;t understand what the Democrats are doing, calling it insanity.
NEW: Discussing immigration laws, Pres. Trump references controversial remarks from campaign launch. "I used the word rape—and yesterday it came out where this journey coming up, women are raped at levels that nobody's ever seen before. They don't want to mention that." pic.twitter.com/y1XPpiTJgG
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) April 5, 2018
Trump’s remarks from his candidacy announcement at Trump Tower in new York City on June 16, 2015 (via the Washington Post):
…When do we beat Mexico at the border? They’re laughing at us, at our stupidity. And now they are beating us economically. They are not our friend, believe me. But they’re killing us economically.
The U.S. has become a dumping ground for everybody else’s problems.
(APPLAUSE)
Thank you. It’s true, and these are the best and the finest. When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.
But I speak to border guards and they tell us what we’re getting. And it only makes common sense. It only makes common sense. They’re sending us not the right people.
It’s coming from more than Mexico. It’s coming from all over South and Latin America, and it’s coming probably — probably — from the Middle East. But we don’t know. Because we have no protection and we have no competence, we don’t know what’s happening. And it’s got to stop and it’s got to stop fast.
A survey reported by the liberal Huffington Post on September 12, 2014 bore this headline:
80% Of Central American Women, Girls Are Raped Crossing Into The U.S.
As the number of Central American women and girls crossing into the U.S. continues to spike, so is the staggering amount of sexual violence waged against these migrants who are in search of a better life.
According to a stunning Fusion investigation, 80 percent of women and girls crossing into the U.S. by way of Mexico are raped during their journey. That’s up from a previous estimate of 60 percent, according to an Amnesty International report…”
A 2017 report was published about a Mexican Catholic priest who violates church law by arranging for migrant women to get birth control to prevent pregnancy from the rapists on their journey through Mexico.
“…Though contraception is a venial sin in Catholic orthodoxy, Prisci began giving women his blessing to take birth control and contraceptive injections. He also developed a relationship with the Santa María pharmacy, an unmissable bright orange building down the road from his church, where he has since directed hundreds of women.
“It is the lesser of two evils,” Prisci said, as we walked across the square. “Since she cannot prevent violation, she protects herself so that she won’t get pregnant.” The priest adjusted his cowboy hat. “Life is above everything. Life comes first.”
Three days ago Buzzfeed mentioned the commonness of rape of migrant women in Mexico.
“More often than not, undocumented travelers have to move in the darkness of night and aboard a cargo train known as “The Beast,” dodging immigration authorities and criminals who extort, rape, and sometimes kidnap them. The treacherous journey has become local lore, documented in books and films.”
While it is not clear what report Trump was talking about on Thursday, the reports from recent years make the case that nearly all women and girls migrating through Mexico get raped.
Bloomberg reported on Trump’s remarks on Thursday:
But instead of spending much time on taxes, Trump belabored the many grievances against immigrants and U.S. immigration law that he voiced during his campaign and into his presidency. He also repeated a false claim that millions of illegal immigrants vote in U.S. elections.
Litany of Complaints
He complained that babies born to undocumented immigrants in the U.S. are granted citizenship at birth.“If you have a baby on our land, congratulations, that baby is a United States citizen,” he said. No other country has such a policy, he said.
He complained of so-called “catch and release” rules on the border that allow undocumented immigrants to be released after being issued an order to appear before a judge.
“Nobody ever comes back,” he said.
He said “the military is going to be building some of” his proposed wall on the Mexican border. Dana White, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said at a briefing on Thursday that the military may improve a fence around a bombing range on the Mexican border.
“There is already some fencing there, but it has been identified as a possibility to reinforce it,” she said…”
Complete video of Trump’s remarks Thursday.
