Linda Ronstadt Criticizes Trump Before He Appears at Venue Named for Her

The singer Linda Ronstadt denounced Donald J. Trump on Wednesday night in a statement released before his scheduled visit to Tucson for a campaign rally on Thursday, saying she had felt compelled to speak out because his event would be held at a venue named after her.

Her statement, which also endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, took aim at the former president on a range of issues, including the rape allegations against him — he was found liable for sexual abuse in a civil case last year — and his felony convictions in New York. She particularly objected to the policy during his presidency that separated thousands of migrant families at the southern border, sending children off to shelters and foster homes across the country while their parents were criminally prosecuted.

“It saddens me to see the former president bring his hate show to Tucson, a town with deep Mexican American roots and a joyful, tolerant spirit,” Ms. Ronstadt wrote.

“I don’t just deplore his toxic politics, his hatred of women, immigrants and people of color, his criminality, dishonesty and ignorance — although there’s that,” she continued. “For me it comes down to this: In Nogales and across the southern border, the Trump administration systematically ripped apart migrant families seeking asylum.”

She ended with a postscript addressed to Mr. Trump’s running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, whose past comments disparaging women without children as “childless cat ladies” have drawn attention since he was named to the ticket.

Ms. Ronstadt wrote that she raised two adopted children as a single mother and owns a cat. “Am I half a childless cat lady because I’m unmarried and didn’t give birth to my kids? Call me what you want, but this cat lady will be voting