Social media was abuzz on Thursday as Donald Trump suggested during a speech at a rally that "the whole country will be like Detroit if Kamala Harris is your president." The only issue? The rally was actually being held in Detroit.
But even though that was the takeaway that made it to most headlines, there was another portion of his speech that caught the attention of social media because of the former president's use of controversial language.
While criticizing large corporations for allegedly exploiting the United States, Trump compared their actions to an act of rape:
"So here's the deal that I will be offering to the world, to companies outside of our world, big companies, powerful companies, that have become powerful because we were stupid, we were stupid. We allowed them to come in and raid and rape our country. That's what they did"
He then defended the use of the word by saying:
"Oh, he used the word 'rape.' That's right. I used the word 'rape. They raped our country"
Although Trump did not specify what companies he was referring to, he appeared to be referring to businesses that manufacture products abroad and export them to the U.S.
Trump: "We allowed them to come in and raid and rape our country. 'Oh, he used the word rape.' That's right, I used the word rape. They RAPED our country." pic.twitter.com/u6k4hShz0l
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 10, 2024
It's not the first time Trump has made a controversial use of the term. When announcing his first presidential campaign at Trump Tower in June 2015, he famously uttered the following remarks:
"The US has become a dumping ground for everybody else's problems. 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."
In his Detroit speech, Trump went on to outline his economic plan to incentivize companies from other countries to open factories in the U.S. He proposed offering tax breaks, low energy costs, and reduced regulatory burdens to businesses that manufacture products domestically and hire American workers.
He also promised to impose tariffs on companies that fail to produce goods within the U.S., something he has done several times in the last few weeks.
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