Republicans love nothing more than to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, which is precisely what the disastrous Senate border bill did.
While everyone thought that the 2024 election would revolve around abortion or other social justice issues, polling continues to show that the border crisis and the economy are top concerns for Americans. Both issues are tied directly to President Joe Biden and his policies. This should be an easy win for the GOP. But as Americans saw in 2022, the GOP will find a way to lose with even the best odds in their favor.
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol announced that agents have encountered over one million illegal immigrants since October 2023. Democrat Mayor Eric Adams said that New York City will be paying illegal immigrants $53 million in pre-paid credit cards to help fund their lifestyles in his city. Instead of capitalizing on these obviously shocking truths, Republicans like Utah Sen. Mitt Romney and Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford find a way to fumble the ball on the 1-yard line.
You are being gaslit https://t.co/lXnbrg568A
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 6, 2024
After Americans got a chance to read the $118 billion border bill and understood how terrible it was for the country, even Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell (a man who is not loved by the base) reportedly encouraged members not to support it when it came up for a vote despite hand-picking Lankford to head up negotiations. It failed.
Instead of calling a spade a spade and promising to do a better job with a new bill or acknowledging the glaring issues with the current one and filing amendments to fix them, both Senators doubled down in their support. (ROOKE: One Huge Issue You Thought Was Over Is About To Rock A Republican Primary)
The Democrats decided their only way to ensure Americans don’t blame Biden for his open border policies is to frame the narrative around it being former President Trump’s fault. Biden addressed the nation in the White House State Dining Room to explain that the “only reason” the border isn’t secure is because of Trump.
“Now all indications are that this bill won’t even move forward to the Senate floor. Why? A simple reason. Donald Trump,” Biden said. He claimed that Trump wants it to fail because it’s a good political move for him to have the border open. The idea is that the more chaos that comes across the border means Trump is closer to beating Biden in November.
They act like the bill hasn’t been put on the internet for Americans to read. https://t.co/dlKwM5paBy
— Margot Cleveland (@ProfMJCleveland) February 7, 2024
But where could Biden and the Democrats have found the idea to blame the open border on the guy best known for “building the wall” and his “remain in Mexico” policy?
Romney, of course.
Two weeks before our aging President blamed Trump for the illegal immigrant crisis, Romney said that it was Trump who didn’t want to pass legislation that would close the border because it would be easier to campaign against Biden if the crisis was ongoing.
“I think the border is a very important issue for Donald Trump. And the fact that he would communicate to Republican senators and congresspeople that he doesn’t want us to solve the border problem because he wants to blame Biden for it is really appalling,” Romney told reporters. He claimed that Trump wanted to “save that problem” for him to “take credit for solving it later.”
Romney: The fact that Donald Trump is telling House Republicans not to address the border because he wants to blame Biden for it is really appalling pic.twitter.com/lff8yFrIhM
— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) February 7, 2024
The Border Emergency Authority is one of the biggest issues Americans have with the bill. While the provision gives authority to detain and remove illegal immigrants from the country, it has some serious exceptions and exemptions.
Lankford refused to see the writing on the wall, continuing to defend his border bill on Twitter. “The emergency authority is not designed to let 5,000 people in, it is designed to close the border and turn 5,000 people around.” (ROOKE: Biden’s Border Crisis Exposed America’s Dirty Foreign Agent Secret)
But it does exactly that and worse.
The emergency authority is not designed to let 5,000 people in, it is designed to close the border and turn 5,000 people around.
— Sen. James Lankford (@SenatorLankford) February 5, 2024
The border essentially remains open until the number of illegal immigrants reaches an average of 5,000 a day for seven consecutive days. Sec. Mayorkas has the authority to enact this provision once the seven-day average reaches 4,000 illegal immigrant encounters a day, but it is not required. Also, the provision does not allow authorities to count illegal immigrants from any country that doesn’t share a border with the U.S. (ROOKE: Texas Revives The Alamo Spirit With Fat Middle Finger To Joe Biden’s Face)
The bill put Americans’ needs and safety last while shoveling more money into a losing war in Eastern Europe. It helped fund another war in the desert for a country that is financially secure enough to handle it. If it had passed, Biden could have claimed on the campaign trail that he worked with Republicans to fix the border crisis while still allowing millions of illegal immigrants into the U.S.
Republicans have all the political leverage needed to close the border but instead worked overtime to give Biden a win.