Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) claimed on Saturday that former President Donald Trump espouses “racist” rhetoric daily when discussing immigrants as MSNBC host Katie Phang claimed the 2024 GOP nominee intends to place people in “detention camps” if he is elected.
Both cited a presidential term blueprint from the conservative Heritage Foundation outlining numerous hardline policy positions that are popular among many conservatives and cover topics such as immigration and taxes. Project 2025 is the brainchild of Heritage Foundation officials Paul Dans, Spencer Chretien, and Troup Hemenway – among others.
While Trump has distanced himself from the plan, Phang connected him to it Saturday on her eponymous MSNBC show.
“I mean, it is not a secret what he did during his first term,” the host said while addressing Garcia. “He’s definitely not made it a secret, especially when you look at Project 2025, which is the blueprint for a second Trump administration – what he will do, is detention camps, more separation of children from their parents, and this, ‘mass deportation.’
Phang asked Garcia to discuss Project 2025, to which he responded:
First. I think it’s very, very clear to Latinos, to immigrants, to folks that just believe in good humanity across the country that Donald Trump is the most anti-immigrant person to run for president and be a nominee of the modern era. The kind of rhetoric that he said, not just in his speech, but somehow that we are poisoning the blood of this country, that we are non-human is not only disgusting, but it’s anti-American.
I’m an immigrant. I came to this country as a young child. My family worked hard to earn citizenship. And the way he treats people that I grew up with, people like my family, he should be ashamed and disgusted. Immigrants are those that are earning citizenship. When we raise our right hand to this country and pledge an oath, we are also patriots. We pledge to this country and he is continuously dehumanizing us every single chance he gets.
Garcia then attacked Trump’s running mate Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) who he said “believes in the exact same things” as Trump regarding immigration.
“And so I think that this kind of rhetoric needs to be denounced by all folks across this country, and Project 2025 would roll back any progress that we have made, and not just on immigration, but on so many other issues that are important to us as just good human beings, as Democrats and as middle class, working-class families,” Garcia said before he claimed Trump attacks immigrants “every single day.”
“I think it’s really important to continue to highlight project 2025, and especially for those of us that are Latinos, that are immigrants, that know this community,” the congressman concluded. “He is attacking us with his quite frankly racist comments every single day. And he certainly did again in his convention speech.”
As CNN noted last week, Trump has said he disagrees with much of the blueprint, which more and more Democrats are using against him as his candidacy has picked up momentum since President Joe Biden’s disaster of a debate performance last month in Georgia.
“I know nothing about Project 2025,” Trump stated. “I disagree with some of the things they’re saying and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal.”
Trump has vowed to carry out what he has called “the largest deportation effort” in American history if he is elected.
Watch the clip above via MSNBC.
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