Trump and far-right seize on Spanish migration crisis

The recent surge of migrants into Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta has become a potent political tool for Donald Trump and far-right leaders across Europe, who are leveraging the crisis to amplify anti-immigration messages.

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It’s terrible. Remember that picture. That’s going to be us in three years if the wrong side gets in.

Trump, quoted by Fox News, portrayed the influx as a dire warning for America, stating, "It’s terrible. Remember that picture. That’s going to be us in three years if the wrong side gets in." He explicitly linked the potential election of Democrats to a decline in American quality of life, tapping into existing concerns about border security.

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If the Democrats get in, you will not live a very good life.

In Europe, the sentiment was echoed by figures such as Alice Weidel, co-leader of Germany's Alternative for Germany (AfD), who claimed Ceuta was "left in ruins overnight" and warned Germany must prepare for similar scenarios. Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Finland's ruling coalition called for Spain's exclusion from the European visa-free zone. Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis attributed the situation to Spain's migrant policies, suggesting it amounted to "replacing Spaniards with migrants."

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Ceuta was left in ruins overnight.

These reactions highlight a coordinated effort by populist and nationalist movements to capitalize on migration challenges. Trump's vice president, JD Vance, and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller both shared news footage of the Ceuta crisis on social media, framing it as a consequence of "radical left-wing globalist policies" and predicting that Democrats would allow "invaders" to overrun American homes. The events in Ceuta have thus been transformed into a transatlantic talking point for a political agenda focused on restricting immigration.

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They are replacing Spaniards with migrants.