"I Am Not A Student Of Hitler": Trump Defends "Poisoning Blood" Comments, Says Illegal Immigration Is "Destroying Our Country"

Former President Donald Trump on Friday defended his past comments on immigration amid a flurry of leftists crying 'Hitler' for saying illegal immigrants are "poisoning the blood of our country" during a recent campaign rally.

While appearing on the Hugh Hewitt radio show, Trump was asked whether he was aware that Hitler used a similar phrase to suggest that "Jewish blood cannot be part of German blood."

"No, I never knew that Hitler said it either," he said, adding "I never read Mein Kampf," referring to Adolf Hitler's book written during his imprisonment during the 1920s and translated as "My Struggle" in English.

"They said I read Mein Kampf. These are people that are disinformation, horrible people that we're dealing with," Trump said.

Hewitt then asked if Trump meant anything racist by the 'blood' comments, to which Trump said "Dear no."

"I know nothing about Hitler. I'm not a student of Hitler. I never read his works. They say that he said something about blood. He didn't say it the way I said it either," Trump continued. "It's a very different kind of a statement. What I'm saying when I talk about people coming into our country is they are destroying our country."

"This country's—we have prisoners coming in. We have mental patients coming in by the thousands. Really, by the millions, because you take a look, I believe that number will be 15 million people. Maybe more than that" by the time President Joe Biden leaves office," Trump continued, adding that he will "peacefully surrender" power at the end of his second term, if reelected.

Last week at a Durham, New Hampshire campaign rally, Trump said that illegal immigrants were "poisoning the blood of our country" and "pouring into" the USA from "all over the world."

As the Epoch Times notes further; last week's "poisoning the blood" remark from the former president sparked reactions from both Republicans and Democrats.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said he did not care much about language choice but focused on the right solution for border security. "You know, we're talking about language? I could care less what language people use as long as we get it right," Mr. Graham told NBC's "Meet the Press."

But Vice President Kamala Harris condemned the 45th president during her interview with MSNBC, saying, "It is language that is meant to divide us. It is language that I think people have rightly found similar to the language of Hitler."

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said that "it's unhelpful rhetoric," while anti-Trump former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie called it "disgusting."

Immigration is one of the key issues in the 2024 White House race, and it is one area where Republican candidates are doing better than their Democrat counterparts. According to a Monmouth University poll released on Dec. 18, a record high of 69 percent of Americans disapprove of President Biden's handling of immigration, while only 26 percent approve.