President Donald Trump continued his nationwide ignorance of basic mid-pandemic public health guidelines with a Wednesday night rally in Duluth, Minnesota. Outside the rally, there was an incident in which an angry Trump supporter violently attacked a journalist, and inside, Trump made such a spectacle of himself that he at one point started half-dancing to the Village People song “Y.M.C.A.” No half-hearted dances are going to make Americans suddenly forget the spectacle of belligerence that Trump displayed at a presidential debate earlier this week, when he interrupted Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden dozens of times.
Check out video of Trump’s awkward Wednesday night dance below:
WATCH: President Trump dances to the Village People's "Y.M.C.A." pic.twitter.com/IMyXQbKqmw
— The Hill (@thehill) October 1, 2020
In his actual remarks in Minnesota, Trump spread some of his usual but no less obtuse nonsense. He claimed, for instance, that Mexico is “paying for” the southern border barriers that his administration has been working on, but this claim is entirely untrue. Mexico is not paying for the wall. Trump also went on a xenophobic anti-refugee rant, insisting that a Biden administration “will turn Minnesota into a refugee camp,” which is outrageous racist fearmongering.
Trump said:
‘[Biden’s team] pledged a 700 percent increase in refugees — 700 percent! Congratulations, Minnesota — congratulations… [U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.)] tells us how to run our country; can you believe it? How the hell did Minnesota elect her? What the hell is wrong with you people? What the hell happened?.. AOC also; it’s time. It’s time. You take a look at what they did; the corruption, the disgusting corruption. 700 percent increase, the refugees, coming from the most dangerous places in the world… Biden will turn Minnesota into a refugee camp.’
Watch his comments below:
"Biden will turn Minnesota into a refugee camp" — Speaking in a state with one of the largest Somali populations in the country, Trump goads his fans into booing refugees, prompting "lock her up!" chants directed at Ilhan Omar pic.twitter.com/dT2yuHxFDZ
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 1, 2020
This rant is racist, period. Ilhan Omar is an immigrant from Somalia — and an American citizen and duly elected member of the United States Congress. She doesn’t tell “us how to run our country.” This is her country. Trump’s supporters booed the mere mention of the country of Somalia — the racism is brazen and appalling, and this nonsense is what Trump has to offer the American people as Election Day approaches.
