Former President Donald Trump claimed at a Saturday rally that the United States was in jeopardy of a "bloodbath" unless he's re-elected, while denigrating some migrants as "not people" and lionizing Jan. 6 riot participants as "hostages."
During the Dayton, Ohio event in support of Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno, Trump also denigrated some migrants as "not people" and called Jan. 6 riot participants "hostages."
While discussing the auto industry and the possibility of China manufacturing cars in Mexico to import into the U.S., Trump warned of dire consequences if he's not returned to the White House.
"Now, if I don't get elected, it's going to be a bloodbath for the whole - that's going to be the least of it," Trump said. "It's going to be a bloodbath for the country."
The Biden reelection campaign seized on the remark.
Biden campaign spokesperson James Singer issued a statement claiming Trump was doubling down on "threats of political violence."
But Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said Democrats and the media were taking the comments out of context when Trump was referring to the impact of a second Biden term on the auto industry.
"Crooked Joe Biden and his campaign are engaging in deceptively, out-of-context editing," Cheung told the Associated Press.
At another point in the nearly 90-minute address, Trump used dehumanizing language to describe migrants.
"In some cases, they're not people, in my opinion," he said, according to the Hill. "But I'm not allowed to say that because the radical left says that's a terrible thing to say."
Trump also referred to people jailed in connection with the Jan. 6th, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol as "hostages," vowing to free them if reelected.
Trump repeatedly noted his difficulty reading from his teleprompters, which were swaying in 35-mph wind gusts at Dayton International Airport.
On Sunday, former Vice President Mike Pence called Trump's comments "unacceptable" during an appearance on CBS's Face the Nation.
Pence said last week that he would not endorse Trump's campaign.
