Donald Trump has once again sparked outrage with his inflammatory remarks about immigrants, this time referring to them as having “bad genes” during a sit-down interview with conservative host Hugh Hewitt on October 7. The former president’s comments, made while criticizing Vice President Kamala Harris’ immigration policies, have fueled intense backlash online and across media platforms.
In the interview, Trump stated, “How about allowing people to come to an open border, 13,000 of which were murderers? Many of them murdered far more than one person, and they’re now happily living in the United States. You know, now a murderer, I believe this, it’s in their genes. And we’ve got a lot of bad genes in our country right now.” His remarks, reported by Reuters, quickly went viral, inciting fury among critics who viewed them as overtly racist and reminiscent of fascist ideology.
Social media platforms, particularly X (formerly Twitter), were flooded with outraged responses. One user, @JRubinBlogger, labeled Trump’s rhetoric as fascism, writing, “This is fascism. Giving someone a platform for this is reprehensible.” Another, @FPWellman, remarked, “He sounds drunk or stoned too. Something is really off right now.” Similarly, @ChrisWozney added, “How can MAGA say this man is not racist with a straight face?”
Some users turned the “bad genes” comment back on Trump and his family. @gailendavid tweeted, “The worst genes of all are in the Trump and Musk families,” while @tooronlists pointed to Trump’s criminal history, saying, “34 criminal convictions says crime is all up in Trump’s genes.” Others, such as @KesendraB, compared his rhetoric to that of Nazi Germany, highlighting the dangerous implications of his words.
JUST NOW: @realDonaldTrump leans heavily into race science by telling @hughhewitt that you can tell whether migrants are predisposed to committing murder by "their genes."
— Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) October 7, 2024
"We got a lot of bad genes in our country right now," he adds. pic.twitter.com/t722iYq4Hm
Despite the outrage, Trump’s supporters defended his statement, claiming his comments had been taken out of context. One user, @UnrulyClock, argued that Trump was not making a blanket statement about all immigrants but rather referring specifically to the 13,000 alleged murderers who have crossed the U.S. border. “It’s in their genes,” they noted, was meant to suggest that these individuals were unlikely to reform from their criminal past.
Trump’s remarks are the latest in a long history of derogatory statements about immigrants. Since launching his first presidential campaign in 2015, he has frequently used inflammatory language, describing Mexican immigrants as “rapists” and accusing migrants of bringing drugs and crime into the U.S. His rhetoric has galvanized the MAGA movement, which has echoed these sentiments throughout his political career.
As Trump continues his campaign for the 2024 election, his controversial statements on immigration remain a central focus, drawing both fierce criticism and staunch defense from his supporters.
