Donald Trump bemoaned political correctness after was stunned by a ‘beautiful’ woman in the crowd of his Arizona rally.
The former president continued his west coast tour in an attempt to flip Arizona back to red after Joe Biden won the state in 2020.
Trump was discussing why crowds flock in droves to see him at his rallies when he overheard a woman shout: ‘Because we love you!’
After a raucous round of applause, Trump attempted to address and then compliment the supporter, who has not yet been identified.
‘Where is that woman? Stand up! Look at her. Wow! I would say-that’s beautiful,’ he said, before suggesting he would be given trouble over the compliments.
‘Is she your wife? You know what? I would say she’s a beautiful woman but if I did say that my political career, you’re not allowed to say that. So I’m not allowed to call you a beautiful woman’
He then covered his face as if to reveal a secret and mock-whispered: ‘but she is!’
Trump added: ‘It’s crazy what’s gone on! You have to be politically correct, nowadays.’
Political correctness and the ‘woke mind virus’ is one of the former president’s signature issues.
The former president pledged on Sunday to hire an extra 10,000 border patrol agents if he is reelected as president, as he intensifies his attacks on Kamala Harris on the issue of immigration, just after a supporter was arrested with firearms outside his Coachella rally Saturday.
The Republican presidential candidate said he would meet the goal by asking Congress to fund a 10 percent pay rise for border patrol agents and a $10,000 retention and signing bonus, at a rally in the border state of Arizona, an election battleground.
Flanked on stage by leaders of the Border Patrol union, who have endorsed Trump, the former president said: ‘This will ensure that we can hire and keep the Border Patrol agents that we need.’
Trump is locked in a close race with Harris ahead of the election. Illegal immigration is a top voter concern, and Trump is seen by a majority of voters as the person best able to address it, opinion polls show.
Trump helped kill a bipartisan border security bill earlier this year that would have funded the hiring of 1,500 extra customs and border patrol agents, and an additional 1,600 asylum officers.
There are currently roughly 20,000 U.S. border patrol officers.
Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, and President Joe Biden have both blasted Trump for his role in pressuring congressional Republicans to kill the bipartisan border security bill, accusing him of sabotaging it for political gain.
Some 7 million migrants have been arrested crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally during Biden’s administration, according to government data, a record high number that has fueled criticism of Harris and Biden from Trump and fellow Republicans.
Harris has outlined her plans to fix ‘our broken immigration system’ while accusing Trump of ‘fanning the flames of fear and division’ over the impact of immigrants on American life.
Harris has also called for tighter asylum restrictions and vowed to make a ‘top priority’ of stopping the deadly opioid fentanyl from entering the United States.
On Friday Trump called for the death penalty for ‘any migrant’ who kills a U.S. citizen.
Trump has noticeably hardened his anti-immigration rhetoric in the final weeks of the campaign.
Last month he called immigrants in the U.S. illegally who commit violent crimes ‘monsters,’ ‘stone-cold killers’ and ‘vile animals.’
Studies generally find there is no evidence immigrants commit crimes at a higher rate than native-born Americans and critics say Trump’s rhetoric reinforces racist tropes.