WASHINGTON — Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump launched a fierce attack on Vice President and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris's immigration and border policies on Wednesday.

Speaking at a rally in Asheboro, North Carolina, Trump claimed Harris would lead the country into disaster, likening her potential presidency to her previous roles in California.

"She'll destroy our country just like she destroyed San Francisco, just like she destroyed California," Trump said, addressing supporters from behind bulletproof glass. The rally marked his first outdoor event since an attempt on his life at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania last month.

Trump intensified his rhetoric by warning that a Harris presidency could lead to global conflict.

"If 'Comrade Kamala' wins the Nov. 5 presidential election, World War III is virtually guaranteed to happen," he stated.

"Everything she touches, she destroys...She was district attorney in San Francisco. The place went to hell...Then she becomes the attorney general of the state of California. That place went to hell...and she's going to do the same thing to the United States."

The former president also asserted that the country, and indeed the world, was "safer" during his tenure in the Oval Office.

He criticized Harris's stance on immigration, particularly her approach to border security. "I don't know why you'd get votes by having open borders. You know, she wants open borders. If she became president, in four years, you'd have 60 to 70 million people from all over the world, and it's not just South America."

Trump went on to claim that under Harris's policies, criminals, terrorists, and individuals from mental institutions would flood into the country. "And remember, they're releasing them from their jails and their prisons. They're coming out of jails and prisons and mental institutions and insane asylums. Then we have hundreds and probably thousands of terrorists that have come into our country," he said.

Trump's running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, joined in the criticism, arguing that the US needs a president for the people, not one selected by "power brokers." "We need a president for the people, and that's why we're going to send Donald J. Trump back to the White House," Vance declared.

On the issue of national security, Vance specifically targeted Harris's handling of the southern border.

"President Trump and I have a message to all the criminal illegals who flooded across Kamala's wide open southern border: Pack your bags, because in six months, you are going home," he added.

This rally comes in the wake of President Joe Biden's announcement that he is dropping out of the 2024 race for the White House, ending his bid for reelection. Biden offered his "full support and endorsement" for Harris as the Democratic Party’s nominee, leading her to officially launch her presidential campaign with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate.

Harris is set to formally accept the Democratic nomination for president on Thursday in Chicago. If elected, she would make US history as the first female president. — Agencies