President Donald Trump has proclaimed Monday 'Angel Family Day' in an effort to rally his anti-immigrant base, as public support for his hardline immigration policies wanes. Speaking from the East Room, Trump repeated false claims about the 2020 election, asserting his loss was due to fraud and linking it to the deaths of audience members' loved ones.
Trump said, "Every one of your loved ones would be alive today, everyone in this room," and accused Democrats of being "professional cheaters." He also claimed, without evidence, that the Biden administration had allowed "25 million people ... to come into our country totally unchecked."
The event featured several so-called 'Angel Families' who lost relatives allegedly at the hands of immigrants with criminal records. Steve Ronnebeck, whose son Grant was killed in Arizona, defended the administration's policies, stating, "Americans are not racist. We're not xenophobic because we want a safe America." Trump also suggested foreign nations were deliberately sending criminals to the US, saying, "If you're running a country, you want to send your bad people out."
The proclamation comes ahead of Trump's State of the Union address, where he is expected to focus on border security and the economy. The date was chosen in memory of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old student killed by an undocumented migrant in 2024. Her mother, Allyson Phillips, thanked Trump for his policies, calling his job "thankless."
