Trump just called immigration an 'invasion.' So did the New Zealand shooter.

President Trump and a New Zealand shooter have picked some eerily similar words.
On Friday morning in Christchurch, New Zealand, attacks by at least one shooter at two mosques left 49 people dead. The alleged gunman, who has been arrested, was found to have a manifesto where he declared "we are experiencing an invasion on a level never seen before in history," per The Kansas City Star. The purported shooter specifically decried the "millions of people pouring across our borders."
Hours later, a shockingly similar phrase came from the president. Trump, after vetoing a bill that would've blocked his national emergency declaration to access border wall funding, briefly condemned the shooting before pivoting back to border talk. There are "crimes of all kinds coming through our southern border," Trump said, adding that "people hate the word 'invasion,' but that's what it is."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Also on Friday, Trump was asked if he saw "white nationalism as a rising threat around the world." "I don't really," Trump responded, saying "it's a small group of people" committing these crimes. Advocacy groups have said hate group activity has been rising in the U.S. for the past few years, and investigative reports have backed that up.
Trump first started using the term "invasion" when a migrant caravan started moving toward the U.S.-Mexico border from more than a thousand miles away. Those asylum seekers are being forced to wait in Mexico for months or even years as their claims are processed.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
North Korea may have just pulled off the world's biggest heist
Under the Radar Hermit kingdom increasingly targets vulnerable cryptocurrency, using cybercrime to boost battered economy and fund weapons programmes
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Today's political cartoons - March 2, 2025
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - world domination, fantasy dominion, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 dangerously funny cartoons about air travel
Cartoons Artists take on fees, fears, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Donald Trump's foreign policy: a gift to China?
Talking Point Trump's projection of raw, unfocused power is fuelling the sense that his America is to be feared, even by its allies
By The Week UK Published
-
Judge tells White House to stop ordering mass firings
speed read The ruling is a complication in the Trump administration's plans to slash the federal workforce
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
What did Starmer actually get out of Trump?
Today's Big Question US president's remarks, notably on tariffs and the Chagos Islands, were encouraging but vague
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Amy Gleason: the low-profile Trump insider officially heading DOGE
IN THE SPOTLIGHT While Elon Musk continues slashing government services as Trump's 'efficiency' pitbull, the White House insists a little-known MAGA functionary is the one officially running DOGE
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump vows 25% tariffs on EU at Cabinet meeting
Speed Read The tariff threats serve to enhance a growing suspicion that the president views Europe as an adversary, not an ally
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Why the Trump administration is advocating for Andrew Tate
Talking Points The 'manosphere' is part of the president's base
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Trump proposes 'gold card' visas for rich immigrants
speed read The president claimed the US will begin selling $5 million visas offering permanent residency
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
House passes framework for big tax and spending cuts
Speed Read Democrats opposed the GOP's plan for $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and $2 trillion in spending cuts, citing the impacts it will have on social programs
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published