Trump revived his signature 2016 campaign moment at a rally, reciting "The Snake" poem in full and tying it directly to border policy.
The poem—a fable about a woman who rescues a frozen snake, only to be fatally bitten—ends with the line: "You knew damn well I was a snake before you took me in."
Trump punctuated the reading by pointing at the crowd: "That's our border!"
The poem became a staple of his first campaign, used to argue against leniency in immigration enforcement. Its return signals a hard pivot back to 2016 messaging as the 2024 race heats up.
The poem—a fable about a woman who rescues a frozen snake, only to be fatally bitten—ends with the line: "You knew damn well I was a snake before you took me in."
Trump punctuated the reading by pointing at the crowd: "That's our border!"
The poem became a staple of his first campaign, used to argue against leniency in immigration enforcement. Its return signals a hard pivot back to 2016 messaging as the 2024 race heats up.