House Speaker Mike Johnson (R) repeatedly fact-checked CNN anchor Jake Tapper on Wednesday for shifting blame from President Joe Biden on the border crisis.
Biden visiting the border
Johnson and dozens of House Republicans visited the southern border on Wednesday to witness the crisis firsthand. In his interview with Tapper, Johnson insisted that Biden visit the border — and that’s when the defenses began.
“I think he went last year. I think he went last year, just FYI,” Tapper claimed.
“Well, he went for a photo-op,” Johnson corrected. “He should come and spend a couple days like we have to be with the people here on the ground who are fighting this war on the border. That’s effectively what it is.”
National security concerns
Next, the speaker commented on the number of immigrants who have entered the U.S. under Biden — at least 7 million — and why that is a national security concern: hundreds of them were on the terrorist watchlist. Tapper responded with more defensive rhetoric.
“There aren’t hundreds of known terrorists getting into the country. There are people whose identity have been flagged on a certain database. I just don’t want people out there thinking that 200 members of Hamas have flown into the country and we don’t even know about it,” Tapper said. “I’m not saying that it’s not serious, I’m just saying these aren’t necessarily terrorists.”
“That’s the terrorist watchlist, Jake. It takes quite a bit to make that list, OK,” Johnson fired back. “These are dangerous people who are coming to the country.”
That was the melody of the entire interview.
In response to Johnson’s concern about terrorists and criminals, Tapper claimed such individuals enter the U.S. under Republican administrations, too.
Policy reform
When the interview shifted to immigration reform, Tapper claimed “it always comes down to the House Republicans and what they’re willing to accept,” ignoring Johnson’s observations of how Biden is failing Americans on immigration.
“We can seal the border. We could do it overnight. The president has the existing authority under existing federal law to do that, and he refuses to do it,” Johnson said.
“The argument is that there is only so much a president can do, even Donald Trump could not seal the border,” Tapper rebutted, claiming, “It’s really up to Congress.”
Supplemental package
Finally, Tapper asked Johnson about a $14 billion supplemental spending package for the border. He claimed Border Patrol agents want the funding to make “their job a little easier for the next month.”
“No, actually, they don’t,” Johnson corrected. “I just quoted to the deputy chief of U.S. Border Patrol. And he said he doesn’t need more buckets. In other words, he doesn’t need more personnel to handle the flow. He needs to turn the flow off. That’s what we’re talking about.
“This is not about sending more money down here. It’s about changing the policy, and the White House seems not to understand that,” the speaker explained.
Tapper, predictably, responded that “even President Trump couldn’t turn the faucet off.”
“Well, he turned the flow down,” Johnson shot back, having made several references to Trump’s “remain in Mexico” policy and his decision to end “catch and release.”
Tapper presses House Speaker Mike Johnson on border policywww.youtube.com
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