COLUMBUS, Ohio — President Trump said Friday night that Republicans will prevail in the midterm elections because Democrats “are not in a position to govern” with lax immigration policies that he said led to the death of Iowa teenager Mollie Tibbetts and others.
Speaking to the Ohio state Republican Party’s annual dinner, Mr. Trump predicted, “This November we are going to win really big.”
“Today’s Democrats are not just extreme, they are really not in a position to govern,” he said. “They are just not in a position to govern when you look at what they are for — open borders and crime.”
The president raised the case of Ms. Tibbetts, who was killed while jogging, allegedly by an illegal immigrant from Mexico who stalked her.
“Everybody is talking about Mollie. Everybody loved her,” the president said.
He accused the media of downplaying the murder due to the defendant’s alleged illegal status.
“When they found out that it was this horrible, illegal immigrant that viciously killed her, all of a sudden that story went down,” Mr. Trump said. “They didn’t want to cover it the way it should have been covered. But what happened to Mollie was a disgrace. And our hearts go out, we mourn for Mollie’s family.”
He also cited the recent murder of a homeless woman in New York, allegedly by a twice-deported illegal immigrant, and the rape of a young child by an illegal immigrant in Philadelphia, which is a sanctuary city.
“Democrat immigration policies are destroying innocent lives, and spilling very innocent blood,” he said. “We believe that any party that puts criminal aliens before American citizens should be voted out of office, not into office.”
It was the first time that a sitting president addressed the state GOP dinner, and the largest crowd at the annual dinner in Ohio history, according to the state party.
The president said Democrats “run down our country” and are “nasty people.” Without mentioning the Justice Department specifically, he launched into a criticism of the failure of Justice officials to prosecute Democrats such as former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe and others in the FBI who have opposed him.
“Nobody looks at them. Is that Deep State, or what?” Mr. Trump said. “McCabe. The beautiful Lisa Page, and her wonderful FBI agent… [Peter] Strzok. …[Former FBI director James] Comey — lies and leaks. Is this guy being looked at? We’re going to straighten it out. It’s happening. It’s going to get straightened out.”
Mr. Trump promoted the Senate candidacy of Republican Rep. Jim Renaci, and blasted Democratic gubernatorial nominee Richard Cordray, who led the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under former President Obama before quitting under Mr. Trump. The oft-criticized CFPB was created with the help of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts Democrat.
“He was groomed by Pocahontas,” Mr. Trump said, using his derisive nickname for Ms. Warren. “He will destroy your state.”
He said of the Democratic Party nationally, “Their whole campaign is resist. They haven’t figured out that they lost the election. They’re going to figure it out. You have left wing haters and radicals trying to tear down our institutions.”
Mr. Trump also praised Rep. Jim Jordan, Ohio Republican, for helping him to “straighten out” the Washington bureaucracy that opposes his policies.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.