GOP Uses Riots in France as Major Closing Message

With two weeks to go before the midterm elections, Republicans hope they have found a potent closing message.

President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., are among the many Republicans who are using the riots in France to warn about what the country might look like if Democrats win back power.

"What's happening to France, they want to happen to our country," Trump said at a rally in Kansas. "Democrats are the party of anti-Western Marxists and hostile Third World migrants."

French authorities reported nearly 2,400 arrests and about 1,000 injured officers during the unrest.

A fire severely damaged the city hall in Limoges in west-central France, while businesses were looted and clashes with police were reported in Paris, Marseille, and other cities.

Republicans have used images of the unrest in France to argue that similar violence could occur in the United States if Democrats regain power.

"What we are witnessing is a chilling warning for all Americans of what happens if the radical Marxist insurgent left gets their way," Johnson wrote on X.

The Republican National Committee has argued the riots in France are what happens when immigration is left unchecked, pointing to Trump's efforts to secure the border.

"What's happening in France serves as a reminder that when unvetted migrants who refuse to assimilate are imported into a country they hate, that country will fall into violent chaos," said RNC national press secretary Natalie Baldassarre in a statement to Politico.

"Democrats are pushing the same failed policies that led France to this point, and Republicans are fighting every day to secure our borders, enforce the law and protect the American way of life," Baldassarre added.

The White House has also posted images of the violence in France on social media, saying that "the future doesn't have to look like this."

"President Trump is right: the riots in France are a direct result of their leader's open border policies. This is what will happen in America if radical Democrats have their way," White House spokesperson Lauren Bis told Politico.

"They are the party of open borders, amnesty, lawlessness, and chaos while President Trump and Republicans are the party of commonsense and law and order," Bis added.

Democrats argue that what is happening in France will not resonate with Americans concerned about the cost of living.

"This is not about persuasion," pollster John Della Volpe told Politico. "It's about mobilization of the MAGA base."

Sam Barron ✉

Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.

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