Well, he finally did it. Joe Biden finally punched his ticket for the presidential statement Hall of Shame.
This is pretty rarified air as it requires a remark extraordinarily brazenly false. Though many have tried, in modern history only two other presidents have earned pedestals in this unhallowed hall.
President Richard Nixon was the first to qualify when he famously insisted, “I am not a crook.” (RELATED: LARRY ELDER: Trump Was Called Racist For Saying ‘Invasion.’ So What About When Al Sharpton Says It?)
For those whose history is a little hazy, Nixon made this remark in 1973 to a televised session with a group of Associated Press editors held at Walt Disney World. He resigned a few months later as his Watergate impeachment proceedings came to a head.
No one had accused Nixon of car theft or similar crime, so in that sense his claim was valid. He was no common crook. However, the term “crook” encompasses wanton obstruction of justice and related charges and so Nixon took the Hall’s first pedestal.
About a decade passed before the nation suffered the second entrant into the presidential statement Hall of Shame. The occasion was President Bill Clinton’s press conference held at the height of the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Again to refresh memories, Monica Lewinsky was a young White House intern who had a months-long kinky relationship with frisky Bill.
With Hillary Clinton glowering just over his shoulder, Bill wagged his finger at the reporters insisting, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Monica Lewinsky.”
Whether Bill and Monica ever did the dirty deed is unknown, but that they had many forms of sexual relations was substantiated by a particular blue dress and some DNA. ‘Nough said.
It’s been about 40 years since Bill’s whopper. It was bound to happen. Enter, President Joe Biden. After denying it insistently since his inauguration, even Biden now admits the southern border is in a crisis, if one can call a barely mitigated invasion merely a crisis. (RELATED: BETSY MCCAUGHEY: Democrats Really Love Rolling Out Welcome Mats)
Only a few years ago, it wasn’t. President Trump’s policies of “stay in Mexico” and building the wall were working and would have worked even better as Congress funded more of the wall.
What happened? Biden happened.
Policies that worked were reversed. Work on the wall was stopped.
At his administration’s outset, Biden announced to the world the welcome mat was open so “come on down” as though this was an episode of The Price is Right. Millions from across the globe heard his message. Many millions in the country illegally are wandering America today.
Now Biden wants Congress to pass the Senate’s bipartisan border bill so he can claim the matter will soon be under control. Soon, in this case, means never, because Biden will ignore whatever elements of the bill might help stabilize the border. His policy is to have an open border. His views haven’t changed.
Illegal immigration and the border invasion are American voters’ top concerns and they know Biden is to blame. He needs an out. If the Senate bill would really secure the southern border, then Republicans should give him the out. But if accurately labeled, this bill would be called the Biden Institutionalized Invasion Act. Senate Republicans are right to oppose it.
To recap: The border was increasingly under control during Trump’s administration; Biden laid out the welcome mat; chaos ensued.
Which brings us to Biden’s entry into the Hall of Shame. During his recent press conference, Biden insisted, “The only reason the border is not secure is Donald Trump and his MAGA Republican friends.”
Perhaps the White House physician can shed some light on this. What, exactly, is Biden smoking? Meanwhile, Biden can take the third pedestal.
JD Foster is the former chief economist at the Office of Management and Budget and former chief economist and senior vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He now resides in relative freedom in the hills of Idaho.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
