ANKARA

The “horrible” situation at the southern border of the US could “destroy” the country, former President Donald Trump said in a pre-recorded interview aired on Monday night.

“They’re playing it down as much as they can play it down. It’s a horrible situation, could destroy our country,” Trump said in a conversation with Fox News host Sean Hannity, his first television appearance since leaving the White House.

“People are pouring in. But you’ll see something as the months go by, like you’ve never seen before. Already it’s like you’ve never seen before. There’s never been anything like what’s happened at our border. People are coming in by the tens of thousands. They’re walking in.”

Trump slammed President Joe Biden’s administration for tinkering with the policies set during his tenure, saying that “all they had to do was leave it alone.”

The former president pursued a hardline approach to immigration, both legal and illegal.

Migrants have been surging into the US since Biden took office in January, expecting a more lenient approach from the new government.

Last month, Trump criticized Biden for turning a “national triumph into a national disaster,” urging his administration to return to what he termed his own “profoundly effective and proven” policies.