Former US President Donald Trump was in Texas for a rally to support GOP candidates from the state who are set to contest the upcoming midterm elections on November 8. This was the first public appearance for the former President after being subpoenaed by the January 6th committee.

Among the many issued he raised in his speech, drug trafficking is one that featured prominently. The 45th US President said that the death penalty would be the best solution to dissuade drug trafficking in the country. According to Trump, “This year more Americans will die of fentanyl and drug overdose than the number of Ukrainians killed in a gruesome and bloody war”. He further added, “Yet, Biden and the radical democrats do nothing to stop the death and devastation that we have happening right here at home.”

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This is when Trump suggested death penalty as a solution: “You have to do something very strong, it’s called the death penalty”, further adding, “You’re going to have no drug problems. Crime is going to going to go down to a level that you haven’t seen.”

According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, fentanyl weighing a total of 14,699 pounds was seized at the US border in 2022, which is more than 11,201 pounds seized in 2021.

Fentanyl was recently in the news when Kanye West alleged that the opioid was the reason behind George Floyd’s death. Floyd’s family is now planning to sue West for $250 million.

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In his speech, Trump also lashed out at what he perceives to be an immigrant “invasion” in the United States. He said, “They’re invading our southern border” while claiming that his government was able to stop the same: “We had it stopped. Biden has allowed millions and millions of illegal aliens to storm across the border…”