“No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You got to pay. You got to pay your bills.”
Trump’s remark comes after Senate Republicans on Wednesday rejected a bipartisan bill that would have included sorely needed new funding for Ukraine, plus aid for ally Israel, along with reforms to address the US-Mexico border crisis.
Frozen Russian assets could be ‘easy’ Ukraine funding, says US envoy
Frozen Russian assets could be ‘easy’ Ukraine funding, says US envoy
“Encouraging invasions of our closest allies by murderous regimes is appalling and unhinged,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement on Saturday night.
“Rather than calling for wars and promoting deranged chaos, President Biden will continue to bolster American leadership,” Bates added.
The Senate bill’s death highlighted Trump’s iron grip on the Republican Party, as its lawmakers acceded to the former president’s calls to torpedo any deal in order to deny Biden a win on immigration ahead of November’s election.
At the rally on Saturday, Trump celebrated the collapse of the legislation, vowing that, if reelected, he would carry out a massive “deportation operation” on his first day in office.
“Let’s not forget that this week we also had another massive victory that every conservative should celebrate. We crushed crooked Joe Biden’s disastrous open borders bill,” Trump declared at a rally in South Carolina.
“The whole group did a great job in Congress.”
Trump – whose first presidential campaign featured a central plank of building a “big, beautiful wall” on the US-Mexico border – on Saturday declared that deporting migrants would be one of his first tasks.
02:45
Influx of Chinese migrants on hazardous Central American route to reach US
Influx of Chinese migrants on hazardous Central American route to reach US
“On day one I will terminate every open border policy of the Biden administration and we will begin the largest domestic deportation operation in American history. We have no choice.”
The Senate is now considering a foreign aid package that decouples the aid from the border issue entirely.
The US$95 billion package set to be debated next week includes funding for Israel’s fight against Hamas militants and for key strategic ally Taiwan. The lion’s share, however, would help Ukraine restock depleted ammunition supplies, weapons and other crucial needs as it enters a third year of war.
With Trump leading Biden in some polls, European allies worry a Trump victory in November could jeopardise the US commitment to the alliance, but Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg last month said he did not think a second Trump presidency would jeopardise US membership.
Stoltenberg, who has been pushing member states to boost defence spending, said European allies were increasing their military contributions and “moving in the right direction.”
Trump has continued to hammer the transatlantic alliance, telling a campaign rally last month that he did not believe Nato countries would support the United States if it were attacked.
On Russia’s war in Ukraine, Trump has called for de-escalation and complained about the billions spent so far, although he has put forward few tangible policy proposals.
Since Moscow’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, US aid to Ukraine has totalled around US$75 billion, Stoltenberg said, while other Nato members and partner states combined have provided more than US$100 billion.
At the South Carolina rally, Trump needled Nikki Haley, his former UN ambassador who is also seeking the Republican Party’s nomination, though her bid is almost certainly doomed as she badly trails her ex-boss in the race.
Addressing voters in Haley’s home state, Trump questioned the whereabouts of her husband Michael, who has not been seen on the campaign trail as he is on a year-long military deployment to the Horn of Africa country of Djibouti.
“Where’s her husband? Oh, he’s away. He’s away. What happened to her husband? What happened to her husband,” he said, raising his voice for dramatic effect.
Haley clapped back on social media platform X.
No one wins Nevada primary, in embarrassment for Nikki Haley
No one wins Nevada primary, in embarrassment for Nikki Haley
“Michael is deployed serving our country, something you know nothing about. Someone who continually disrespects the sacrifices of military families has no business being commander in chief,” she said.
And Michael Haley had his own message for Trump, tagging the candidate in a post on X that was accompanied by a close-up photo of a wolf overlaid with the text: “The difference between humans and animals? Animals would never let the dumbest ones lead the pack.”
Additional reporting by Reuters