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Surging 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris tore into Donald Trump on Thursday, calling him a small man who hides behind big tweets and cruel policy and rhetoric.

In an interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, the California senator said Trump is following the playbook of a “predator” when it comes to his treatment of immigrant families.

“When he makes these grand proclamations through his big tweets, what he is doing – I believe intentionally – is trying to create fear in these individuals and these families,” Harris said. “That is not the sign of a strong president.”

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Harris said:

The best tool in the tool belt of the predator against an undocumented immigrant is to convince that victim that if you report the crime against you – rape, child assault, fraud – it is you who will be treated as the criminal. So when he makes these grand proclamations through his big tweets, what he is doing – I believe intentionally – is trying to create fear in these individuals and these families. That is not the sign of a strong president. The display of strength in my book is you lift people up, you don’t beat them down. This guy in the White House has a continuous pattern of trying to beat people down. Specifically on this issue, on the census.

The purpose of Trump’s anti-immigrant policies is to create fear

As Rachel Maddow noted on Thursday, the point of Donald Trump’s immigration policies – specifically nationwide ICE raids planned for this weekend – is to spread fear among immigrant families and create excitement among his base.

It’s no longer sufficient enough to call for a Mexico-funded wall along the southern border or even to portray immigrants as criminals or rapists. Trump recognizes that, ahead of 2020, he needs to turn up the cruelty and remind his supporters why they supported him to begin with.

That’s why his administration is super cool with the detention centers mistreating migrant children and families. It’s why the president made it his mission to add a citizenship question to the census. It’s why he is authorizing nationwide ICE raids across the country this weekend.

As Kamala Harris said on Thursday, Donald Trump is a small man who hides behind big tweets and cruel, inhumane rhetoric and policy. He’s hoping it’ll be enough to give him a second term in 2020.

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