President Trump is warning voters that U.S. streets will burn like those in France if Democrats are elected in November, using the overseas crisis to ramp up the stakes around the midterm elections.
“If you want to see what is at stake in this election, just look at what’s happening in France — a once great nation that is being conquered, looted and burned to the ground by migrants, jihadists and communists who hate Christianity,“ Mr. Trump told a rally late Monday in Kansas.
Mr. Trump is taking a keen interest in the riots in France, which began as protests against crumbling and underfunded schools and spiraled into violent clashes over the cost of living and government austerity measures.
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The president sees it as an extension of lax migration policies.
Mr. Trump, who stumped for Sen. Roger Marshall as the Republican lawmaker tries to stave off a surprise defeat, underlined his commitment to strict border and immigration policies.
“We’re not going to let that happen to this country,” Mr. Trump said of the French clashes. “When you see burning steeples and raging fires in France, just remember that is what the radical Dumocrats want to do to America.”
The president leaned into his tough-on-immigration stance as he crisscrossed the country to campaign for Republicans in tight races.
Mr. Trump is also watching overseas developments. He said French President Emmanuel Macron made a “big mistake” by allowing migrants into the country.
“Paris is going to be a Muslim city very soon,” Mr. Trump told White House reporters. “Emmanuel should’ve closed his borders a long time ago. I told him to do it.”
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