What was the full transcript of Donald Trump's June 16 2015 presidential announcement speech regarding Mexican immigrants?

1. What the speech actually said — the contested lines

The most‑reported, contested lines from the June 16, 2015 announcement read: “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people” — a passage directly quoted in multiple outlets covering the speech ^{[1] [2] [4]}. News organizations and transcript archives reproduce this excerpt as the portion that generated the international outcry ^{[5] [3]}.

2. Where to find the full text and transcripts cited by reporters

Several mainstream outlets and archival sites published full or near‑full transcripts of the June 16 announcement or reproduced the notable passages. Time published the speech text and is cited by Ballotpedia as a source for that transcript ^[6]. Business Insider and Politifact reproduced the key paragraph and provided context and commentary ^{[2] [1]}. An independent repository also hosts a full transcript labeled “June 16, 2015 Donald Trump Announcement Speech” ^[3]. History Musings republished a Time‑sourced full text as well ^[7].

3. How fact‑checkers and analysts framed the line

Fact‑checking organizations and analysts used that quoted passage as the basis to evaluate claims about what Trump said and what it implied. Politifact noted the precise wording and ruled that while Trump repeatedly characterized some immigrants as rapists, he did not literally say “all Mexicans are rapists,” a claim some opponents made — Politifact’s item cites the same June 16 wording as the most notorious example ^[1]. Forbes and other outlets examined the factual basis of the implied criminality claims against immigrants and found those claims inconsistent with immigration and crime data they reviewed ^[8].

4. Media reaction and political fallout at the time

Major outlets and international press treated the June 16 passage as a significant provocation. Business Insider reported widespread corporate and political fallout following the remarks ^[2]. The Guardian characterized the kickoff as a “tirade” that aimed specific ire at Mexico and noted the “great, great wall” rhetoric that accompanied it ^[5]. Those reactions formed part of an immediate firewall between the statement and ensuing campaign controversies.

5. Scholarly and cultural impact of the phrasing

Academics and commentators cite the June 16 wording as emblematic of Trump’s approach to immigration and as illustrative of rhetorical techniques that frame immigrants as a dangerous out‑group; a 2020 honors thesis quoted the passage verbatim when discussing effects on Latinx youth ^[9]. Journalistic and scholarly literature treat the passage not just as a quote but as a turning point in how Trump’s immigration rhetoric was perceived and studied ^[8].

6. Disagreements and limits in reporting

Reporting agrees on the core wording; disagreements are about interpretation and whether opponents exaggerated the claim into “all Mexicans are rapists.” Politifact explicitly says that characterization is false while still confirming the actual quoted lines ^[1]. Available sources do not provide an official, verbatim video‑published “official” transcript from Trump’s campaign site within this set — several outlets rely on their own transcriptions or archives ^{[2] [3]}. If you want the single, authoritative minute‑by‑minute verbatim text as released by the campaign, available sources do not mention a single campaign‑hosted full transcript in this bundle ^[3].

7. What you should take away as a reader

The evidence in these sources shows the controversial passage is widely and consistently quoted across reputable fact‑checkers and news outlets ^{[1] [2] [5]}. Media and analysts disagree about the broader inferences: critics say the lines are demeaning and factually misleading; some defenders emphasized “some… are good people” or contested hyperbolic paraphrases such as “all Mexicans are rapists” ^[1]. For the full speech text, consult the transcript archives and major outlets cited above, which reproduce the speech and surrounding remarks ^{[3] [7]}.