Donald Trump proposes migrant vs American cage-fighting match

Donald Trump has proposed that migrants should take on Americans in a cage-fighting tournament.

The former president floated the idea in a speech to Christian conservatives and again at a rally in Philadelphia on Saturday night.

In remarks described as “unhinged” by Democrats, the 78-year-old Republican presidential nominee recalled a conversation he had with his friend Dana White, the president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, while addressing the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s Road To Majority conference in Washington.

“Did anyone ever hear of Dana White?” he asked.

“I said, ‘Dana, I have an idea. Why don’t you set up a migrant league of fighters and have your regular league of fighters, and then you have the champion of your league — these are the greatest fighters in the world — fight the champion of the migrants.’

“I think the migrant guy might win, that’s how tough they are. He didn’t like that idea too much.”

Several leading cage fighters have endorsed Trump.

At the start of the month, the former president received a standing ovation at a UFC event in New Jersey.

Mr White, who was in Saudi Arabia, described Trump’s remarks as a joke.

Migrant crime

But critics said this was just the latest in a series of inflammatory remarks by the former president about migration, an issue he sees as defining in his bid to regain the White House.

Trump has accused the president of being responsible for migrant crime and claimed the murder of student Laken Riley by an undocumented Venezuelan was the result of the White House’s weakness on immigration.

The former president also used his speech to evangelicals to appeal for their support by endorsing Louisiana’s new law which requires The 10 Commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom.

“Has anyone read the ‘Thou shalt not steal’? I mean, has anybody read this incredible stuff? It’s just incredible,” he said.  “They don’t want it to go up. It’s a crazy world.’’

With the two candidates set to face off in the first presidential election debate on Thursday, the latest polls showed them running neck and neck, with the 538 aggregator giving Mr Biden a wafer-thin lead for the first time this year.

Over the weekend veteran Republican strategist Karl Rove warned that Trump had been declining in the polls since being convicted of 34 felonies in New York, even though the verdict had led to a surge in campaign donations.

Preparing for Thursday’s debate, Trump told a rally in Pennsylvania that Mr Biden was ready to use performance-enhancing supplements to improve his chances.

“Right now, Crooked Joe has gone to a log cabin to ‘study,’” Mr. Trump said.

“He’s sleeping now because they want to get him good and strong. So a little before debate time, he gets a shot in the ass.”

Meanwhile, senior Republicans urged him to tone down the aggression to avoid a rerun of the chaotic debate of 2020.

“Don’t take the bait,” said Senator John Thune (R-SD). “Demeanour’s important, tone’s important. I think you can be decisive and strong, as he is, but I think in many ways you want to give President Biden as much rope as possible  because I don’t think that probably is going to play well for him.”

Trump’s remarks were condemned by Douglas Rivlin, of America’s Voice, a group campaigning for the rights of undocumented immigrants.

“Fantasies about cage matches are a distraction from the very real plans Trump and his team are making to deport millions of people who have lived here for decades and the resulting inflation, joblessness and economic devastation,” he wrote on X.