KJP said what when asked about Biden visiting border with Kevin McCarthy?

AP Photo/Susan Walsh

Fox News Channel White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre if President Biden would be visiting the southern border with soon-to-be Speaker McCarthy. McCarthy extended an invitation to go to the border with him as they discussed the Biden border crisis during a meeting at the White House on Tuesday. KJP brushed the question away and answered, “”He’s been there. He’s been to the border.”

Advertisement

Doocy’s question was a perfectly reasonable one – “We know the president’s never been down to the border. The possible next speaker says that he wants [Biden] to go with him. So, is he going to?” That’s when KJP’s Pinocchio nose began to grow and Doocy asked when did Biden go to the border? The press secretary moved on with her response.

Um, what? When did that trip take place and where did Biden go? Clearly, Joe Biden has no intention of visiting the southern border to see for himself the humanitarian crisis that his policies (or lack thereof) have created. KJP just wanted to get past Doocy’s question as quickly as possible.

We’ve been down this road before. Joe Biden has never been to the U.S.-Mexico border. There is no record of him going to the border as president or vice-president. Biden lied during a town hall on CNN in 2021 when he said he’d been to the border. Then-Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked about that by Doocy and she delivered a lame response.

Psaki referenced Biden’s drive past the border in the El Paso, Texas, area more than a decade prior, when he was on the campaign trail as Barack Obama’s running mate.

“But, the most important thing everyone should know and understand is that the president has worked on these issues throughout his entire career and is well-versed in every aspect of our immigration system, including the border — that includes when he was vice president,” Psaki told reporters.

Advertisement

Technically Biden may have buzzed by the border in a vehicle in 2008, perhaps he looked out the window. But, as anyone would tell you, that is not visiting the border. What a joke. Unfortunately for KJP, she is not nearly as capable of thinking on her feet and so she sputtered a bit and ended up lying. There was plenty of pushback on social media, including from a Fox News Channel reporter who has been reporting from the border from almost the beginning of the Biden border crisis.

Sorry, KJP. You’re full of malarkey. Four Pinocchios.

Kamala Harris, the border czar, made one trip to El Paso in June 2021. El Paso is not where the heaviest concentration of illegal border crossings occur. It is not the Rio Grande Valley. She was on the ground for a few hours, did not tour the border, took some photos with local officials and Border Patrol officers, and made a statement to the press. That was it.

I’ll note that the reporters in the White House press corps didn’t bother to follow up on Peter Doocy’s question in Wednesday’s press briefing. No one asked again when Biden went to the border or why he won’t go. They were happy to cover for KJP and the Biden administration.

Advertisement

As I wrote about on Wednesday, the administration is getting the picture that Americans are sick and tired of our southern border being open and such history-making numbers of apprehensions of illegal immigrants being made month after month. There may be some changes coming to how the Biden border crisis is handled. Maybe. Nothing is decided. Everyone is just yammering about possible policy changes. Most of this is because Title 42 is ending in December and there is a whole new huge wave of migrants expected to try to cross the border when that happens. There seems to be a little panic setting in as the reality of what they have created – intentionally- is biting them on their butts.

Four senators are asking for DHS’s plans for when Title 42 ends. That presumes there is a plan and that’s a big presumption. They expressed “deep concerns” to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in a letter.

“We have expressed concern with DHS’ preparations for the end of Title 42, especially as the situation has deteriorated at times. Record annual encounters have led to untenable situations,” Sens. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.; Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz.; Maggie Hassan, D-N.H.; and Jon Tester, D-Mont., ​wrote in the letter made public on Monday.

“In Arizona, shelters have been forced well beyond capacity. This month, El Paso has seen over 700 migrants released directly onto city streets due to overcrowding. This is not safe, and creates a dangerous situation for migrants and communities,” the letter continued.

Advertisement

Yes, it does create dangerous situations. Too bad the Biden administration doesn’t care. If only they had a way of knowing what exactly was going on at the border…

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Trending on HotAir Videos

Advertisement
Advertisement
Ed Morrissey 10:00 PM | November 22, 2024
Advertisement
Advertisement