With his own large American flag unfurled on the wall behind him, Tancredo requested that the audience join him in reciting the pledge of allegiance even before he began to speak on the issues that define his presidential campaign.
"We desperately need someone who will inspire us again ... [on] what it is to be an American," Tancredo said while gazing up at the flag.
He added later, "I know I am not P.C."
Tancredo said that he is not running because of the prestige associated with the presidency, but rather because he wants to highlight significant issues that face the nation today.
For Tancredo, the principal issue is immigration.
"[Immigration is] not just an issue," he said, "it's a phenomenon."
Immigration affects every American domestic issue, Tancredo said, citing a number of statistics that allegedly show that the influx of migrants poses consequential economic and political problems. He argued that immigrants should be considered threatening because "some of them want to do very, very ugly things here."
Tancredo lambasted immigration for furthering a "cult of multiculturalism," which he said he believes demonizes American culture. This multiculturalism promotes non-assimilation among immigrants, Tancredo said.
He worried that the United States is "making a national religion of [diversity]." He went on to say that even though there are some "good" new immigrants, the majority just traffic drugs and "do bad things to us."
In order to fight the immigration of these people, Tancredo supports the lowering of caps on visas for legal immigration, which could significantly lower the number of immigrants allowed into the country.
He said he strongly supports the ejection of all illegal immigrants followed by a "time-out on legal immigration," stemming the flow of all immigrants into the United States for an unspecified amount of time.
Tancredo himself is a third-generation Italian immigrant. One audience member was prompted by his ancestry to question his stance on immigration. He maintained that pressure to assimilate used to overcome immigrants' "natural resistance" to do so, which is not true today.
"I think multi-lingualism on the part of individuals is a great thing," Tancredo said. "A multi-lingual country is divisive."
He explained that in order to counter immigrants' resistance to learn English, the United States should repeal legislation that ensures that all ballots and governmental acts be printed in multiple languages.
"I am opposed to bilingual education," he said, saying later that there should be "one language in schools."
Tancredo admitted, however, that not all illegal immigrants are damaging to the United States.
Arguing that his stance on immigration is not motivated by race, Tancredo outlined his disapproval of all racial classifications. In an interview with The Dartmouth, Tancredo described his distate of affirmative action policies.
"I am absolutely opposed to it. ... It is reverse discrimination," he said.
Moving on from issues of race and immigration, Tancredo explained his views on states' rights and governmental power -- the tenets of traditional Republicanism. He spoke of his disapproval of the current administration's expansion of federal power, although he said he believes federal oversight is justified in cases of national security, which he said includes immigration.
"We, [the federal government], have a role. It's a relatively limited one ... protect and defend," Tancredo said. "That's really it."
Finishing up his speech to a small group of particularly politically efficacious students and faculty, Tancredo said "my best hope is I will get elected, my second bet is to get [the candidates] to think of [immigration]." In a final appeal to patriotism, Tancredo said he mostly focused on "doing what I can for a country I love."
