The Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump says in a radio interview that illegal immigrants bring "bad genes" to the USA.
The statement came as Trump criticized his Democratic rival in the presidential election, Vice President Kamala Harris, when he referred to reports that there are thousands of immigrants in the USA who have not been detained, despite being convicted of murder.
You know, a murderer – I believe in this, it's in their genes. We have many bad genes in our country right now, said the former president to the conservative program host Hugh Hewitt.
The White House quickly condemned Trump's statements as "abhorrent".
That kind of language is hateful, it's disgusting, it's inappropriate and doesn't belong in our country, says the White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
