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Trump uses a piece of border wall and a stack of steel beams in Arizona to set himself apart from the Democrats


Trump uses a piece of border wall and a stack of steel beams in Arizona to set himself apart from the Democrats

SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. (AP) — On a dirt road beneath the shrub-strewn hills of Arizona Donald Trump used a piece of wall and a stack of steel beams to create a visual contrast between his approach to securing the border and that of his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.

Trump brought grieving mothers, the sheriff of Cochise County and the head of the Border Patrol agents’ union during his visit on Thursday, which was themed “Make America Safe Again,” to reinforce his tough message on border security.

“To my right is what we call the Trump Wall. That wall was built under President Trump,” said Paul Perez, president of the Border Patrol agents’ union. “To my left we have what we call the Kamala Wall. She just stands there and does nothing.”

The visit was the fourth in a Series of events in swing states this week to divert the focus from the Democrats’ celebration Harris’ presidential nomination in Chicago. Speakers at the party convention on Wednesday evening accused Trump of using the border to incite his voter base by demonizing immigrants.

Also attending Thursday’s border visit were the mothers of children killed during the Biden administration. The suspects were immigrants living in the country illegally. Trump frequently points to attacks involving immigrants to stoke concerns about the Biden administration’s policies. However, some studies have found that people living in the U.S. illegally are less likely to be arrested for violent, drug and property crimes than native-born Americans.

“I really, really, really want everyone to consider how important border control is because we are losing very innocent people to heinous crimes,” said Alexis Nungaray, the mother of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray, who strangled in Houston in June.

At the Arizona event, snipers stood in elevated positions nearby, their eyes and guns trained on Mexico, a day after Trump held his first outdoor rally since an assassination attempt last month. Security forces were also visible on the Mexican side of the border, including several men carrying rifles and tactical gear. Others wore uniforms identifying them as members of the Mexican state police.

“What Biden and Kamala have done to the families here with me and so many others, thousands and thousands of others, they have not only killed them, but they have really badly injured them, so badly injured that they will never be able to live normal lives again. It’s disgraceful and it’s evil,” Trump said.

The Biden administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the wall materials that were on site during the visit.

On his tour of swing states, Trump has visited Pennsylvania, Michigan and North Carolina this week and will hold events in Las Vegas and Glendale, a Phoenix suburb, on Friday. His running mate, Sen. JD Vance from Ohio, spoke at the same location near the border a few weeks ago.

Democratic elected officials argued at the convention Wednesday night that their party is the only one taking a real leadership role on border issues.

“When it comes to the border, listen to me when I say, ‘You know nothing, Donald Trump,'” said U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, who represents the border city of El Paso, Texas. “He and his Republican imitators see the border and immigration as a political opportunity to be exploited, not a problem to be addressed.”

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U.S. Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, spoke after a video was shown showing the Republican Resistance to a cross-party border agreement earlier this year. Murphy was the lead Democrat negotiating the proposal with conservative senators and said the bill would have received unanimous support without Trump.

When asked about the agreement, Trump called it “weak” and “ineffective,” adding that President Joe Biden does not need a bill to take action.

“He didn’t need a law. He knows that,” he said. “You know, I didn’t have a law. I said, ‘Close the border.'”

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Gomez Licon reported from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Associated Press writer Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report from Chicago.

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