Following the failure of the border bill in the Senate, former President Donald Trump used his Saturday rally in Conway, South Carolina, to make a bold claim should he win the presidency.
"On day one, I will end all open borders of the Biden Administration, and we will begin the largest domestic deportation operation in American history," Trump said.
His comment was met with cheers from the crowd.
In addition, the former president also referred to the bipartisan bill that was discussed last week in Congress.
"We have crushed corrupt Joe Biden's disastrous open borders bill," he said.
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That bill contained policies that aligned with the tough border restrictions pushed by conservatives.
It would also have given the US government the authority to block the entry of immigrants if the border is overwhelmed.
Trump was a key player in blocking the bill, as he called on his fellow Republican lawmakers to oppose it.
He also claimed Saturday that the bill would have allowed "millions and millions" of people to cross into the United States illegally.
In reality, the bill would have made it more difficult for people to seek asylum at the border, ultimately reducing the number of migrants.
The failure of the bipartisan bill in the US Senate this week highlights the former president's tight control over the Republican Party, which is willing to deny Biden a victory on the hot-button issue of immigration.
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"Let's not forget that this week we also had another massive victory that all conservatives should celebrate. We crushed corrupt Joe Biden's disastrous open borders bill," Trump declared at the rally in South Carolina.
"The whole group did a great job in Congress. We crushed it."
Under pressure from Trump, who wants to exploit Biden's perceived weakness on immigration, Republican lawmakers appeared to decide they preferred to hold off on any border reform until after the November elections.
The Senate border bill included aid for Ukraine and Israel.
Now the Senate is studying a foreign aid package that completely separates aid from the border issue.
The $95 billion package up for debate includes funding for Israel's fight against Hamas militants and for Taiwan, a key strategic ally.
However, most of it would go to helping Ukraine resupply ammunition, weapons and other crucial needs in its third year of war.
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Warning to NATO
The former president also claimed on Saturday that, while he was president, he told the leaders of NATO countries that he would "encourage" Russia to "do whatever it wants" to countries that had not paid the money they owed to the military alliance.
Repeating a statement he had previously made to highlight his negotiating skills, Trump did not make clear that, although there has been a dispute over spending, it was not about unpaid debt to NATO, but about European countries complying their spending commitments to their own armies.
Some NATO members are investing below an unofficial commitment to spend 2 percent of their economic output on defense.
However, the former president has also called on the United States to "reach a deal" to end the war in Ukraine by ceding Ukrainian territory to Russia, comments that were seen by some as a call for conservative American lawmakers to block a greater involvement in the war.
Some European officials and foreign policy experts have said they are concerned that Russia could invade a NATO nation after its war with Ukraine concludes, fears they say are heightened by the possibility of Trump returning to the presidency.
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In a statement, a White House spokesman, Andrew Bates, called Trump's comments "egregious and unhinged."
He added: "Instead of calling for wars and promoting unhinged chaos, President Biden will continue to strengthen American leadership and defend our national security interests, not against them."
Trump has expressed his belief that support for NATO is an undue burden on the United States, saying the alliance drains his financial and military resources.
His campaign website says the country must reevaluate the purpose of that organization.
Last year, he claimed during a campaign speech that "hundreds of billions of dollars poured" into NATO after he threatened that the United States would leave the alliance.
With information from
The New York Times
and
Fox News