President Donald Trump never mentioned Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez by name in his speech to supporters in Fargo, North Dakota on Wednesday evening. But he responded indirectly to the “democratic socialist’s” surprising primary win in New York’s 14th congressional district the day before by defending Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — the agency Ocasio-Cortez has vowed to abolish.
Trump told the cheering crowd:
In recent days, we’ve heard of shameless attacks on these courageous law enforcement officers [ICE]. Extremist Democrat politicians have called for the complete elimination of ICE. “We don’t want ICE anymore!” You know what would happen to parts of our country? It would be overrun with the worst criminal elements you have ever seen. Left-wing activists are trying to block ICE officers from doing their jobs, and publicly posting their home addresses, putting these incredible people and their families in harm’s way.
(Boos)
These radical Democrat protesters, they really want anarchy. But the only response they will find from our government is very strong law and order.
(Cheers)
We will not tolerate attacks on our law enforcement. We will protect our law enforcement like they protect us!
(Cheers)
We will always stand proudly with our brave heroes of ICE, the Border Patrol, the sheriffs, the police, yes, the firemen — the firemen sometimes are under attack, if you can believe it. The firemen. These are great people. And we have their backs.
(Cheers)
Later, after the rally, Trump drove the message home by tweeting the key lines from his speech:
In recent days we have heard shameless attacks on our courageous law enforcement officers. Extremist Democrat politicians have called for the complete elimination of ICE. Leftwing Activists are trying to block ICE officers from doing their jobs and publicly posting their…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 28, 2018
…home addresses – putting these selfless public servants in harm’s way. These radical protesters want ANARCHY – but the only response they will find from our government is LAW AND ORDER!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 28, 2018
Trump tied Democrats to Ocasio-Cortez’s core message — “Abolish ICE!” — and showed voters its frightening consequences.
While Ocasio-Cortez’s surprise win may have inspired the “Resistance,” it may prove to be an even bigger gift to Trump.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. He is also the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, which is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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