Donald Trump's foul-mouthed rant about migrants captured in private pitch to donors | Donald Trump

Donald Trump went on a foul-mouthed tirade about undocumented immigrants and predicted that this “could be the last election we ever have” if Kamala Harris wins at a private fundraising dinner this summer.

The Guardian obtained a 12-minute recording of a speech the Republican presidential candidate gave at a dinner on August 10 in Aspen, Colorado, where attendees were required to donate between $25,000 and $500,000 per couple.

Trump devoted most of his address to border security and immigration, echoing xenophobic claims familiar from his rallies. “Left-wing lunatics” wanted people out of prisons, mental hospitals and insane asylums, he claimed without evidence, adding that the U.S. was harboring “a record number of terrorists.”

The former president insisted that “smart, very smart” leaders of Venezuela and other South American countries were sending murderers and drug dealers to the United States to reduce their own crime rates, decongest their prisons and save money.

Trump cited a false example of 22 people he claimed came to the U.S. after being released from prison in the Democratic Republic of Congo. “We said, 'Where are you from?' They said, “Prison.” 'What did you do?' “It’s none of your damn business what we did.” Do you know why? Because they are murderers.”

The candidate added, “I hate using those curse words,” apparently recognizing that his use of the F-word extended beyond his campaign rallies. The Congolese government has said that Trump's statements are not true.

The candidate continued: “These are the toughest people. These people come from Africa, from the Middle East. They come from all parts of Asia, the bad parts, the tough parts, and the only good thing is that they make our criminals look extremely nice. They make our Hell’s Angels look like the nicest people in the world.”

Studies show that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans.

Trump flew to Aspen on a Gulfstream G-550 jet once owned by Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender, after his own private plane – a Boeing 757 known colloquially as Trump Force One – suffered engine failure.

The dinner was held at the $38 million home of investors and art collectors John and Amy Phelan. Guests included casino mogul Steve Wynn, billionaire businessman Thomas Peterffy, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Florida Congressman Byron Donalds, Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert and former Colorado Senator Cory Gardner .

Trump, who staged a coup attempt on January 6, 2021, claiming his Democratic rival Harris was the real threat to democracy, used the exclusive event to warn of dire consequences if she becomes president.

“Look, we have to win, and if we don’t win, this country is going to hell,” he said. “You know, there's an expression, this could be the last election we ever have, and it's an expression that I really believe in, and I believe this could be the last election we ever have. “

The ex-president spoke a month before his first and probably only televised debate against Harris, in which opinion polls and pundits would widely see her as the clear winner. This wasn't what he predicted.

“I'm telling you, we have a radical left who is going to be president – if she wins it will be a disaster – she really wants to be president.” Thank God she's supposed to be terrible at debating, even though she's evil, and she's supposed to be really bad at interviews. She can’t give an interview.”

Trump also claimed that Harris supports the “Defund the Police” movement, suggesting that she is a typical politician who will revert back to type once elected.

“Their policy is to defund the police. She wants to defund the police. She wants open borders. With a politician – and I've seen it because I've been on both sides of politics for a long time; Well, a short time for this site, but I've always been a contributor – she wants to go out and she wants to defund the police. And they always return to their original plot. They always do.”

Harris, a former courtroom prosecutor, spoke out in favor of the “Defund the Police” movement in a radio interview in June 2020, but later changed her position after becoming Joe Biden's running mate.

Trump also reflected on how he survived an assassination attempt at a July rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in which 20-year-old Thomas Crooks opened fire from a rooftop, killing firefighter Corey Comperatore, 50, and two others Trump supporters injured.

Trump recounted how members of his Mar-a-Lago golf club in Florida had asked for donations to Comperatore's family. “I said absolutely and they gave me a check for a million dollars. That's a lot of money. Perhaps even more impressive is that we started a GoFundMe program and have raised more than $6 million for the injured group, which essentially consists of three people.”

He then remembered a meeting with Comperatore's widow Helen and made a risky attempt to inject humor into the tragedy. “So they're going to get millions of dollars, but the woman, the woman, this beautiful woman, I gave her the check – we gave her the check – and she said, 'That's so nice and I appreciate it 'But I would much rather have my husband.' I know some of the women in this room wouldn’t say the same thing.”

As dinner guests erupted in laughter, Trump quipped: “I know at least four couples. I know four couples, Governor (Abbott), and you're not one of them. Actually, at least four couples would have been thrilled here.”

The event is believed to have raised $12 million for Trump's campaign, but it wasn't enough to prevent Harris from raising more than four times that amount in August, the first full month of her run for the White House as her opponent collected.