WASHINGTON

Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump criticized Vice President and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris's immigration and border policies Wednesday.

"She'll destroy our country just like she destroyed San Francisco, just like she destroyed California," Trump said at a rally in Asheboro, North Carolina, where he addressed supporters behind bulletproof glass.

The event was his first outdoor rally since an attempt on his life last month at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

Trump said if "Comrade Kamala" wins the Nov. 5 presidential election, World War III is "virtually guaranteed to happen."

"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," he added.

Every American and the entire world was "safer" when he sat in the Oval Office, Trump claimed.

"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.

"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 added.

Trump's running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, said the US does not need a president 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," he said.

'Pack your bags, because in 6 months, you are going home'

On national security, Vance 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.

Last month, President Joe Biden announced that he was dropping out of the 2024 race for the White House, ending his bid for reelection.

After offering his "full support and endorsement" for Harris to be the Democratic Party’s nominee, she officially launched her presidential campaign. Harris chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to be her running mate in the race.

Harris will on Thursday in Chicago formally accept the nomination as the Democrats' presidential candidate for the coming election.

If elected, she would make US history as the first female president.