Trump claims record-high migration, rebukes Biden’s border policies, and jumps on gaffes during the Presidential debate.
In what many are calling the most important presidential debate in American history, former President Donald Trump faced off against President Joe Biden this past Thursday night, June 27. Moderated by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, the debate covered an array of topics, including the economy, foreign policy, and election integrity. A surreal moment even featured a short debate on the candidates’ golf games.
Among the chief topics of the night was immigration. According to the Pew Research Center, record-high levels of migration at the U.S.-Mexico border under the Biden administration has become a central issue of this election cycle. During the debate, immigration was one of the longest discussed issues, with Trump commanding 76% of the time according to NBC News.
The question on immigration was first directed to Biden:
“President Biden, a record number of migrants have illegally crossed the southern border on your watch, overwhelming border states and overburdening cities such as New York and Chicago, and in some cases causing real safety and security concerns. Given that, why should voters trust you to solve this crisis?”
Biden responded by mentioning a bipartisan bill aimed at curbing illegal immigration through increased border patrol staffing. He attempted to reinforce his accomplishments in immigration reform, claiming, “Significantly – by the way, the Border Patrol endorsed me, endorsed my position.” However, this assertion was quickly disputed both in and out of the debate.
The border patrol union (NBPC) posted to the social media site X (formerly Twitter) during the debate, “To be clear, we never have and never will endorse Biden.”
Biden concluded his remarks asserting that illegal immigration is lower than when Trump left office. As he brought his answer to a close, the President appeared to have lost his train of thought saying, “And I’m going to continue to move until we get the total ban on the – the total initiative relative to what we’re going to do with more Border Patrol and more asylum officers.”
Trump responded, “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don’t think he knows what he said either.”
Trump then used his time to speak about the state of the border during his administration, “We had the safest border in the history of our country. All he had to do was leave it.” He repeatedly mentioned the rise in crime attributed to illegal immigrants, job losses among minority Americans to migrants, and the terrorists exploiting the open border to enter this country. Trump even used some of his time to correct Biden, stating that the Border Patrol actually endorsed him, not Biden.
Trump concluded his remarks with a short summary, “But, look, we had the safest border in history. Now we have the worst border in history. There’s never been anything like it. And people are dying all over the place, including the people that are coming up in caravans.”
