Trump’s Remarks on Migrants Illustrate His Obsession With Genes

In discussing migrants and genes, the former president used language that reflected his decades-long belief that bloodlines determine a person’s capacity for success or violence.

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Former President Donald J. Trump in Saginaw, Mich., last week.

With the presidential race in its closing weeks, Donald J. Trump’s language has grown increasingly strident on the issue of immigration. But as he continues to demonize undocumented migrants as violent criminals, the former president is also reviving another old habit: invoking his long-held fascination with genes and genetics.

For decades, including long before he became a political figure, Mr. Trump has been publicly obsessed with bloodlines and his stated belief that genetics are the best predictor of a person’s success. He has repeatedly commented on what he described as his, his family’s and his supporters’ good genes, and on others’ bad genes.

In an interview on “The Hugh Hewitt Show” on Monday, Mr. Trump misleadingly cited government data to assert that thousands of murderers had crossed the southern border under the Biden administration. And then he pivoted.

“Many of them murdered far more than one person, and they’re now happily living in the United States,” Mr. Trump told Mr. Hewitt, a conservative radio talk show host. “You know, now, a murderer, I believe this, it’s in their genes. And we got a lot of bad genes in our country right now.”

Mr. Trump’s remarks about migrants’ having “bad genes” brought a flurry of headlines from news outlets, and then condemnation from Democrats. Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, called the language “vile, disturbing, hateful” during a briefing on Monday.

Karoline Leavitt, a Trump campaign spokeswoman, accused the news media of ginning up a controversy, saying that Mr. Trump “was clearly referring to murderers, not migrants.”

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