In a press conference this week, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre blamed Republicans for the crisis at the border.
What else is new?
The White House Shifts Blame
The White House has been pointing the finger across the aisle for the past two years, but has done little to rectify the situation, regardless of who started it.
Jean-Pierre claimed that Republicans are doing nothing to assist the President in his stalwart efforts to secure the border.
“What I’m saying is that the president, without the help, without the help of Republicans, is doing everything that he can to deal with the border,” she responded.
She claims Republicans are using the border as a “political stunt” in order to blame Democrats for the potential government shutdown.
“While Republicans try to push forth a CR (continuing resolution) to limit – to take away – the federal agents that we see at the border… they’re trying to politicize it and make it worse,” Jean-Pierre continued, referencing recent efforts to avert a government shutdown. “That’s what Republicans are trying to do and turn it into a political stunt. The president is actually dealing with the issue that’s in front of him by getting record funding, 25,000 federal agents at the border. That is something that this president has been able to do.”
Texas Blames Washington
According to Greg Abbot, the Governor of Texas – you know – the state that actually has to deal with the thousands of illegal immigrants that pour across the border every day – President Biden isn’t doing jack.
Abbot declared to Fox News host Sean Hannity, “We need the President to start enforcing the immigration laws of the United States of America, period.”
Hannity emphasized the point. “It’s even worse than not enforcing it. The President has been aiding and abetting in the law breaking. I saw that they were cutting holes in the wire that you’re footing the bill to put up to protect your state and your cities, the border cities.”
The Governor responded, “In all my life of public service I’ve never seen anything like what happened this past week with what Joe Biden did because Texas has built mile after mile after mile of concertina razor wire barrier to prevent illegal immigrants from coming in and it worked. They stopped coming in.”
“Biden’s border patrol used wire cutters to cut it open, open it up, and thousands came in,” Abbot said.
“Every time you try to protect the people of your state,” Hannity proclaimed, “they won’t allow you to enforce what is the law of this country.”
Progressive Cities Getting a Taste of Their Own Medicine
New York has been getting just a taste of what Texas encounters on a daily basis and it’s been enough to make leadership change their tune real fast.
Mayor Eric Adams went from, “New York is a sanctuary city” to declaring a state of emergency over the mass influx of immigrants into the metropolis within a matter of months.
Illegal immigrants, he says, “will destroy” NYC. “It’s going to come to your neighborhoods,” he warned in a town hall on the Upper West side last month.
“I don’t see an ending to this,” we warned residents.
Same Song and Dance
A couple of weeks ago Fox News’s White House correspondent Peter Doocy pressed Jean-Pierre, “What do you call it, here at the White House, when 10,000 people illegally cross the border in a single day?”
Jean-Pierre’s retort took the form of a question, “So what do you call it, Peter, when GOP puts forth a …”
Doocy tried to interrupt her to get her to answer the question, rather than responding with another question, a typical tactic used to evade a direct reply.
Jean-Pierre completed the exchange with all the maturity of a four-year-old.
“You’re answering my question with a question,” Doocy responded.
“I’m answering — OK, we’re going to move on,” Jean-Pierre said as the pair started talking over one another.
“Karine, please,” Doocy said.
“No, no, no, we’re moving on,” she declared once again before gesturing to another reporter. “In the back.”
“You said you were stopping the flow at the border. Ten thousand migrants—” Doocy said before being cut off again.
“Peter, I tried to answer the question, and you stopped me,” Jean-Pierre said before turning to the other reporter once again. “Let’s go.”
Jean-Pierre’s press tactics mimic what seems to be the Executive office’s strategy at the border – ignore the problem, divert attention, and do very little to resolve the situation.
Jennifer Galardi is the politics and culture editor for 19FortyFive.com. She has a Master’s in Public Policy from Pepperdine University and produces and hosts the podcast Connection with conversations that address health, culture, politics and policy. In a previous life, she wrote for publications in the health, fitness, and nutrition space. In addition, her pieces have been published in the Epoch Times and Pepperdine Policy Review. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter.
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