The US President claimed to donors at a private meeting on the campaign trail that he would crack down on a key part of democracy
Donald Trump was recorded threatening to deport all student protesters from the US in a private meeting with donors.
“Those people made a big mistake. Throw them out of the country, and I think that will stop it,” he said at the at a gathering of donors on the campaign trail last year, which took place while largely peaceful pro-Palestinian protests were raging on college campuses.
When one donor noted that some of those students would be running the country one day, Trump replied: “If you get me elected, we will set that movement back 25 to 30 years.”
The Trump administration has begun a campaign of mass deportations of undocumented people in the US.
Alongside this, officers have arrested and made efforts to deport several students and graduates – who are in the country legally – but who were involved in protests last year.
And at another fundraiser, Trump said the Republicans were at a disadvantage because “the welfare people will always vote for Democrats.”
“The unions give big money, the civil service stuff gives big money, and they have the advantage of welfare,” he said. “The one thing that I have to say to my Jewish friends: You’ve got to get them to start voting Republican.”
Last week, Trump was heavily criticised for using an anti-Semitic slur in a speech in Iowa, during which he referred to “some” bankers as “Shylocks”.
Trump also claimed he had threatened to bomb Moscow in a meeting with Vladimir Putin.
At another event, the US President said he’d warned Putin the US would bomb the Russian capital if he invaded Ukraine.
The timing of the claimed threat is unclear, but a recording of Trump’s remarks indicates it was made in person.
“I was with Putin, and I told him if you do it,” he says on the recording.
Repeating himself, he says he told the Russian dictator: “if you go into Ukraine I’m going to bomb the s**t out of Moscow, I’m telling you I have no choice.
“And then [Putin] goes, like, ‘I don’t believe you.’ But the truth is he believed me 10%.”
He said he’d made a similar threat to Chinese President Xi Jinping, threatening to bomb Beijing if China invaded Taiwan.
“He thought I was crazy,” Trump said, adding: “we never had a problem.”
Details of the tapes were published this week in a new book by reporters Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager and Isaac Arnsdorf about the Presidential election, entitled “2024”.
Yesterday, Trump said at a televised meeting of his cabinet: ““I’m not happy with Putin. I’m very unhappy with them.”
He added that the Russian President had thrown “a lot of bulls**t” at the US, adding: “He’s very nice, but often it’s meaningless.”