Election 2024 live coverage: Harris in D.C. for speech, Trump faces Madison Square Garden rally backlash

During remarks at Mar-a-Lago, his Palm Beach, Florida, estate, Trump echoed his familiar attacks on Harris and Democrats, and claimed the vice president is running a “campaign of hate.”

“I’m running on a plan to save America,” he said. “We have no choice, It’s the greatest there is and we’re going to save it.”

Trump painted a dire picture of U.S. cities, claiming there is “squalor” and “bloodshed.” Data released by the FBI in September showed that violent crime and property crime dropped in 2023, and murder and non-negligent manslaughter saw a 11% decline.

The Republican presidential nominee appeared to attack the Biden administration for failing to respond to an Iranian assassination plot against Trump that was detected by U.S. intelligence. A Pakistani national with alleged ties to Iran was arrested and charged in August with plotting a murder-for-hire scheme targeting government officials, including Trump.

The former president said if he were in office and a foreign nation was threatening his political opponent, he would threaten to “obliterate your entire country.”

Trump’s remarks largely focused on immigration and the Biden administration’s border policies, indicating that his closing message to the American people will focus on an issue that has been central to all three of his presidential campaigns.

“To me, there’s nothing more important than the fabric of our country being destroyed by people violently placed there, foolishly, stupidly placed there,” he said. “I think what’s happening on the border is the single biggest issue.”

Trump announced that if elected, his administration would seize the assets of gangs and drug cartels and use them to create a fund to provide restitution for the victims of crimes committed by migrants in the U.S. illegally.