The former Republican president has been using increasingly dystopian rhetoric in his campaign speeches about the state of the country.

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In the middle of a section in his speech about placing tariffs on imported cars, and foreign competition for the US auto industry, Trump declared: “If I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole country.”

Asked what he meant, his campaign pointed to a post on the social media platform X by a New York Times journalist, which said Trump’s “bloodbath” comment came amid a discussion about the US auto industry and the economy.

Asked for a response to Trump’s “bloodbath” comment, Biden campaign spokesperson James Singer condemned Trump’s “extremism”, “his thirst for revenge”, and his “threats of political violence”.

Trump also appealed to blacks and Hispanics, voters who will play a key role in deciding November’s election.

Trump has been narrowing the gap with Biden in opinion polls with non-white voters, who formed a core part of Biden’s winning coalition when he defeated Trump in 2020.

Trump cited a central campaign theme, that too many illegal immigrants have crossed the US-Mexico border since Biden took office, in his appeal to minority voters.

“No one has been hurt by Joe Biden’s migrant invasion more than our great African American and Hispanic communities,” Trump said.

He claimed without citing any evidence that illegal immigrants were taking their jobs.

The Biden-Harris campaign responded to Trump’s “bloodbath” comments in a post on X calling Trump “a loser who gets beat by over 7 million votes and then instead of appealing to a wider mainstream audience doubles down on his threats of political violence”.

“He wants another January 6, but the American people are going to give him another electoral defeat this November because they continue to reject his extremism, his affection for violence, and his thirst for revenge.”

Reuters