Donald Trump accused of proposing “The Purge” in real life during wild campaign speech: 'One really violent day'

Social media erupted with claims that Trump's recent comments at an rally sounded eerily reminiscent of the plot of "The Purge" franchise.

Donald Trump's proposed version of reality apparently looks a lot like the horror-filled fictional realm of The Purge, after the former president was accused of suggesting bringing the plot of the beloved media franchise to life following a wild campaign speech in Erie, Pa.

Social media erupted Sunday with claims that Trump advocated for a Purge-like approach to reducing crime in America, following the 78-year-old's rally in Pennsylvania during which he spoke about allowing police to have "one really violent day" to curb theft.

In the speech, Trump segued into the discussion by criticizing Vice President Kamala Harris and ABC's David Muir, whom he took issue with on the topic of crime when Muir moderated the Sept. 10 presidential debate.

"Crime is at a level like we've never seen, it's rampant. It's rising," Trump said, later adding, "We have to let the police do their job, and if they have to be extraordinarily rough," before trailing off into another thought. Trump said that the "liberal left won't let" police respond appropriately to imagined scenarios of criminal conduct he said happened at the hands of migrants.

"The liberal left wants to destroy [the police] and they want to destroy our country. You know, if you had one day, one real rough, nasty day with the drugstores, as an example," he said, later doubling down on asking the crowd what they think would happen "if you had one really violent day." He then proposed putting someone like Republican Congressman Mike Kelly in charge of such an endeavor, which he again described as "one rough hour, and I mean real rough," and speculated that such a measure "would end immediately" all crime.

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Trump's comments drew intense response online, with many social media users comparing his quotes to The Purge media franchise, which, across multiple films and a TV series, follows an imagined future in which the United States government allows all crime — including murder — for one day per year, as an effort to allow citizens to "purge" their violent inclinations and curb crime throughout the rest of the annual calendar.

"Donald Trump suggests a Hollywood-style Purge, allowing just one day or one hour of 'really rough' stuff to get rid of the drug dealers," one user responded on X. "When someone tells you who they are, believe them."

Another added: "Left for a few hours to come back to Donald trump literally promoting the purge unironically you cannot make this s--- up."

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Entertainment Weekly has reached out to representatives for Trump, The Purge creator James Demonaco, and Purge producers Jason Blum and Brad Fuller for comment.

Across five films to date, The Purge series has grossed $534 million collectively at the worldwide box office, with a sixth film reportedly in the works.

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