Billionaire business developer and Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump says his comments about immigration have become a movement and has pointed to violence perpetrated by immigrants in the U.S. illegally to defend his stance.
Trump spoke Saturday to a couple of thousand people gathered for the annual Libertarian-led FreedomFest inside a Planet Hollywood ballroom on the Las Vegas Strip.
"You can't be great if you don't have a border, no matter what you do," Trump said. "And you can't be great if China is taking all your jobs."
He stressed to the audience that he loves China — "How can you not love China when they pay me?" Trump said. He also said he loves "the spirit" of Mexican people.
But, he added, "They kill us at the border. People flow through at the border, and they send people through that they don't want."
Trump brought on stage Jamiel Shaw Sr., a Southern California man who's 17-year-old son was shot and killed in 2008 by a man in the country illegally. Shaw told the crowd about his son's death, adding he trusts Trump.
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Trump said he supports legal immigration but rejects the illegal variety due to its potential for violent crime.
“There’s something really bad out there, something really sick out there,” Trump said.
“I encourage legal immigration,” he added. “To make this country great and strong again we have to stop illegals from coming in. They have to come in legally.”
Trump also said that the political media is distorting his claims on border security and immigration policy.
“The political press, the media, is very, very dishonest,” he said. “We have to live with them.”
“I have millions of people on Facebook and Twitter,” Trump added of his strategy for countering negative press. “It’s like owning The New York Times without the losses.”
Political correctness, he said, is weakening America’s prestige in the world.
“People are tired of incompetent leadership,” Trump said. “We’re done with the nice stuff.”
As he has before, Trump slammed both GOP rival Jeb Bush and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton.
“Every single person who has given Jeb Bush or Hillary Clinton money has something lined up in return,” he said of their campaign funding.
“It’s probably not to the benefit of this country or to you,” he told listeners.