Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump speculated refugees from war-torn countries like Syria could be terrorist plants in a often-angry campaign rally Saturday.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Biloxi, Miss., Trump said people who are coming into the country as refugees aren’t checked enough and they could be terrorists in disguise.
“Maybe it is the ultimate Trojan horse,” he said.
The nighttime campaign rally drew another huge crowd of about 13,000 people. Trump said thousands more were waiting outside to get in.
The rally came hours after violent protests in Tehran and in other parts of the Middle East Saturday sparked by news that 47 people were executed in Saudi Arabia for alleged terrorist activity. Among the executed was prominent Shia Muslim cleric Nimr al-Nimr.
Trump said he thinks it’s a part of a malign plot by the Islamic Republic.
“They’re burning down the Saudi embassy. What that is Iran wants to take over Saudi Arabia, they want the oil, they’ve always wanted that,” he said.
Iran is a mostly Shiite Muslim country that has for decades been at odds with Saudi Arabia, a mostly Sunni kingdom that has long been a close U.S. ally.
Protesters in Tehran threw Molotov cocktails at the Saudi embassy Saturday and then stormed the building, smashing glass and other objects in a scene reminiscent of the storming of the American embassy in 1979.
The State Department has condemned the executions carried out by Saudi Arabia, as have many European countries.
On Friday, it was reported al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda affiliate, is now using Trump’s statements about Muslims in a recruiting video. Trump didn’t mention that during his speech Saturday. His campaign didn’t respond to a request for comment on Saturday.
During his Biloxi speech, Trump repeated his claim that he is “the most militaristic person” and laid the blame for the creation of the so-called Islamic State at the hands of President Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
“Hillary Clinton created ISIS with Obama,” Trump said after also laying the blame for the terrorist organization at the feet of the Saudis.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misstated the day of the speech. The Washington Examiner regrets the error.
