Donald Trump has altered the immigration debate in the United States, conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh said on his show Wednesday.
"Look at what Donald Trump has done,"
Limbaugh said. "Donald Trump has single-handedly changed the debate in terms of electoral politics now. There is a bunch of us who have been saying similar things, doing similar things. But none of us is running for president and none of us has been covered by the media day in/day out with every syllable that we utter.
"Donald Trump has changed the entire debate on immigration, and he is not the story today. The story today is sanctuary cities."
The Daily Caller posted audio of Limbaugh's remarks:
Story continues below audio.
Trump has made national headlines with his recent comments about illegal immigrants who come from Mexico.
During his campaign announcement speech on June 16, Trump — a real estate mogul running for president as a Republican — said America has an immigration problem.
"When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. ... They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems to us," said
Trump, who defended his comments on Monday. "They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, some are good people!
"But I speak to border guards and they tell us what we're getting. And it only makes common sense. They're sending us not the right people. It's coming from more than Mexico. It's coming from all over South and Latin America, and it's coming probably from the Middle East. But we don't know. Because we have no protection and we have no competence, we don't know what's happening. And it's got to stop and it's got to stop fast."
NBC and Macy's have severed ties with Trump because of what he said, while
ESPN moved a charity golf tournament from one of his courses.
"I don't know how long it's going to last, but on just one issue look at what it has cost Donald Trump," Limbaugh said. "Look at the abuse that he has taken and had to take. Look at how much business he has had to lose. Although Trump, in classic Trump fashion, has issued a press release today saying all of this is actually increasing his business. He genuinely is one of a kind."
Limbaugh, however, said the national media is now turning its attention to the issue Trump raised, illegal immigration, because of the
slaying of a San Francisco woman allegedly at the hands of an immigrant who had been deported five times.
San Francisco is a "sanctuary city" and does not, in general, enforce national immigration laws.
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