An Islamic State–inspired U.S. Army veteran killed 15 people when he drove a pickup through New Orleans’s crowded Bourbon Street on New Year’s Eve—and President-elect Donald Trump has decided that immigrants should shoulder the blame for the horrifying attack.
In a lengthy Truth Social post early Thursday, Trump claimed that the domestic terrorism incident was the result of open borders, distracted authorities, and the Democratic establishment.
“Our Country is a disaster, a laughing stock all over the World! This is what happens when you have OPEN BORDERS, with weak, ineffective, and virtually nonexistent leadership,” Trump wrote. “The DOJ, FBI, and Democrat state and local prosecutors have not done their job. They are incompetent and corrupt, having spent all of their waking hours unlawfully attacking their political opponent, ME, rather than focusing on protecting Americans from the outside and inside violent SCUM that has infiltrated all aspects of our government, and our Nation itself.”
Fact check: The FBI’s suspect for the attack, 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, is a U.S. citizen born in Texas. And choosing to undermine the reputation of investigative agencies looking into the attack is a hair-raising choice for the man about to retake the White House in 18 days.
“Democrats should be ashamed of themselves for allowing this to happen to our Country,” Trump continued. “The CIA must get involved, NOW, before it is too late. The USA is breaking down—A violent erosion of Safety, National Security, and Democracy is taking place all across our Nation. Only strength and powerful leadership will stop it. See you on January 20th. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Even Fox News issued an on-air correction for Trump’s incendiary statement, reminding viewers that Jabbar served in the Army and was not an immigrant. But Trump has since doubled down on his perspective, insisting that “TRUMP WAS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING!”
The post echoed some of Trump’s more violent comments on immigration. In 2023, the MAGA leader leaned on appalling language that recalled Adolf Hitler’s fascistic rhetoric designed to dehumanize his enemies. Trump referred to his political rivals—the GOP-anointed “Communists, Marxists, Fascists, and Radical Left Thugs”—as “vermin,” and claimed that immigrants are “destroying the blood of our country.”
