Former President Donald Trump is set to visit critical battleground states as part of his campaign against President Joe Biden’s handling of the U.S.-Mexico border. He plans to attack Biden over what is being termed as “Biden’s Border Bloodbath” in Michigan and Wisconsin, where polls show that Trump has an advantage on immigration issues. Recent high-profile cases of immigrants in the U.S. illegally being charged with crimes, including the killing of a nursing student in Georgia, have fueled the narrative around illegal border crossings hitting record highs.
During his visit, Trump is expected to discuss the killing of Ruby Garcia, a Michigan woman who was found dead in Grand Rapids. The suspect, Brandon Ortiz Vite, a citizen of Mexico, had previously been deported following a drunk driving arrest. Trump’s campaign spokeswoman, Karoline Leavitt, accused Biden of bringing chaos and killings from around the world to every town in the U.S., blaming him for the current situation at the border.
While Trump’s rally in Georgia last month featured the family of a victim of an immigrant crime, it remains unclear if Garcia’s family will attend the upcoming event. Biden’s campaign has preemptively accused Trump of politicizing tragedies and sowing hate and division, while Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has highlighted the need for bipartisan solutions to the border crisis, criticizing Trump for encouraging Republicans to abandon previous border-related deals.
Trump has been vocal about the issue of illegal migration, using inflammatory rhetoric to criticize Biden’s handling of the crisis at the southern border. He has accused migrants of “poisoning the blood of the country” and painted a picture of a conspiracy to overthrow the United States. Republicans in Michigan and Wisconsin are playing catch-up organizationally, with Democrats having a head start in terms of field offices and staff on the ground. Some Republican lawmakers have faced controversies related to false claims about migrants, adding to the political tensions in the states.
In Wisconsin, Democrats have a strong organizational presence, with multiple field offices and a sizable staff, while the Wisconsin Republican Party has faced fundraising challenges and organizational turnover. Trump’s visit to Wisconsin marks his first since 2022, ahead of the plans to open more campaign offices and hire staff in the coming weeks. The political landscape in Michigan and Wisconsin is shaping up to be highly competitive, with both parties gearing up for a closely contested election in the battleground states.
