AAt the event, which was supposed to promote economic policies that would usher in what his campaign calls a “new era of American industrialization,” Donald Trump spent as much time talking about personal grievances and blaming immigrants for everything from fentanyl overdoses to crime and taking jobs away from Americans, but he also talked just as much about the economy.

“This is an economic development speech, but it is a big part of economic development,” the former president said about immigration in a speech in Savannah, Georgia, on Tuesday.

After limiting himself to prepared remarks on the economy for about 30 minutes, Trump turned to other topics such as immigration – much to the delight of the audience.

“Close the border!” shouted one man in the crowd as Trump said that undocumented immigrants were responsible for countless ills.

The loudest applause from the crowd of about 2,500 people came when the Republican presidential candidate claimed that the United States already had much of what it needed to become what he called an “economic superpower,” including natural resources, a skilled workforce and leading companies.

“The only thing we lack is smart people to lead our country,” Trump said.

Among other promises – including cutting Americans’ energy costs in half and claiming he would “prevent World War III” – Trump said he would revitalize America’s manufacturing industry and return it to the way it was “50 years ago.” Trump also said he would block the sale of US Steel to the Japanese company Nippon – a plan that Joe Biden says he wants to block.

The former president criticized electric cars – except those made by his backer Elon Musk – a perhaps odd tactic given the ongoing construction of a $5.4 billion Hyundai electric car factory that will employ 8,500 workers and has been praised by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp. Trump made no mention of the factory or Kemp in his remarks.

Trump then diverted from the topic of immigration, questioned the intelligence and patriotism of Kamala Harris, and addressed a July assassination attempt in Pennsylvania and another horror in Florida earlier this month.

Trump claimed that more than just luck saved his life the day he was grazed by an assassin’s bullet.

“People are saying, ‘It was God, and God came down and saved you because he wants you to bring America back,'” Trump said as the crowd began chanting “USA!”

Finally, returning to the economy, Trump said a plan to give away federal land to companies willing to build manufacturing facilities there would prompt “entire industries” to relocate to the United States.

He also said he would cap the corporate tax rate at 15% — but only for companies whose products are made in the United States. Trump and Republicans had already cut the highest possible corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% when Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017. The top corporate tax rate was made permanent by the law, but the individual tax cuts included in the law expire in 2025. Both candidates have said they want to see those tax cuts extended, but Harris says she would raise the top rate to 28%.

It was Trump’s first visit to Georgia since Aug. 3, when he held a rally in Atlanta. Last month, Harris visited Savannah and held a rally that drew nearly 9,000 supporters.

Much of Trump’s economic policy is inseparable from his views on immigration. That line of attack — that immigrants are responsible for a weak economy and even inflation and the availability of goods — resonated with two of the Republican candidate’s voters waiting for his event on Tuesday.

“We don’t have enough food in our stores because of the number of immigrants here,” said Christy Donley, who traveled from nearby Pembroke to hear Trump’s speech. “We have Americans here who can’t achieve the American dream, but we’re making the American dream possible for illegal immigrants.”

Donley’s girlfriend Kassie Williams intervened.

“Credit, health insurance, driver’s licenses – we give all of these to immigrants whether they deserve them or not,” said Williams, who believes Trump’s proposed corporate tax cuts will help individual workers. “I want him to explain more clearly what he thinks about tax breaks for corporations. I understand that this benefits everyone – it lowers the unemployment rate, which leads to higher tax revenues – but maybe not everyone understands that.”