Facebook
X
LinkdIn
Copy Link
Kamala Harris is aiming to project strength on border security, but her critics aren’t buying it.
For the first time in over three years, Harris is visiting the border, following an onslaught of ads from former president Donald Trump’s campaign that have savaged her record as America’s border czar. Her trip also comes after a bombshell report from Texas congressman Tony Gonzales about how tens of thousands of illegal immigrants with murder and sexual assault convictions are freely roaming America.
During her Arizona border swing, Harris attacked Trump for helping sink a controversial bipartisan border bill; the bill’s critics contend that it would still have allowed too many illegal immigrants into America, and local lawmakers told The Spectator that her border visit “smells like nothing more than a photo opportunity to try and score political points.”
“For three and a half years, the vice president has been in a position to address this crisis, but instead she has ignored it. As a result, border districts, like mine, have suffered under her lack of leadership,” Arizona congressman Juan Ciscomani said. “If she was truly serious about addressing the crisis at the border, she would have done something as the sitting vice president to help border communities that have been calling for help.”
Her visit did have its backers, including Democratic Florida congressman Maxwell Frost, who praised her for understanding the “humanitarian crisis” at the border. But Harris’s visit hasn’t convinced either the National Border Patrol Council, whose vice president, Art Del Cueto, called her move a “slap in the face towards the men and women that put their lives on the line every day,” or to Ciscomani’s fellow border state lawmakers.
California congressman Darrell Issa, who visited the southern border more times this year alone than Harris has done since becoming vice president, told The Spectator that her trip “isn’t a border tour. It’s a victory lap.
“Biden and Harris set out to end border policies that were working, let in as many illegals as possible and allow them to stay,” he said. “All that’s missing is the banner reading MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.”
Despite the Republicans’ criticisms, Harris has leaned into her record of prosecuting transnational criminals and dealers to offset the reality that her administration has “allowed over ten million people into our country, undermined public safety, and overwhelmed our federal, state, and local law enforcement officers,” Idaho congressman Mike Simpson told The Spectator.
“This ‘visit’ is far too little, too late,” he added.
-Matthew Foldi
On our radar
‘IT’S A MIRACLE’ Former first lady Melania Trump spoke out about the assassination attempts against her husband, Donald Trump, in her first media interview promoting her new memoir. She blamed the left calling Trump “awful names” for the assassination attempts and also described the couple’s first date, during which she said they shared a “connection.”
CAN YOU FEEL THE KENERGY? Independent journalist Ken Klippenstein published the internal vetting document the Trump campaign had prepared on running mate J.D. Vance after the document was reportedly stolen by Iranian hackers. The 270-page document lists potential vulnerabilities for the senator from Ohio.
ADAMS INDICTED New York mayor Eric Adams pleaded not guilty to charges that he committed fraud and bribery in his role as a public official. Adams is accused of taking money from Turkish government sources in exchange for using his political influence to help the foreign country.
Zelensky makes bipartisan apology tour
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky found himself on an apology tour of sorts this week after previously attacking both President Donald Trump and his running mate, Senator J.D. Vance, while on a pseudo-campaign tour in Pennsylvania.
Zelensky appeared this week alongside Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro, Senator Bob Casey and Representative Matt Cartwright — all Democrats, with the latter two among the top targets for Republicans in both chambers of Congress this November. He cast doubt on Trump’s ability to end Ukraine’s war with Russia and attacked Vance for being “radical.” No Republicans were present with them as they toured a munitions factory in Pennsylvania, because none had been invited.
Zelensky’s remarks struck many as odd, right before a presidential election in which the targets of his ire may be running America’s foreign policy for the next four years — and some Republicans even demanded an investigation into his visit. Speaker Mike Johnson, who was almost ousted from his role over his support for Ukraine, lashed out at the country, asking Zelensky to fire his ambassador to America.
Amid the uproar, Zelensky scored a coveted in-person meeting with Trump — his first since Trump’s first impeachment in 2019. Following their meeting, Trump boasted that Zelensky said he did nothing wrong on the infamous “perfect” phone call the two leaders had, which led to Trump’s first impeachment.
Zelensky was “like a piece of steel,” Trump said. The Ukrainian “said it loud and clear and the impeachment hoax died right there,” he added.
Zelensky also met with the Biden administration and Kamala Harris to shore up support for his nation’s war efforts.
–Cockburn
VP debate rules set
CBS News released the official rules for the vice presidential showdown between Senator J.D. Vance and Governor Tim Walz. The debate will run very similarly to the last two presidential debates between former president Donald Trump and President Joe Biden and between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris on CNN and ABC, respectively. There will be no audience, the debate will last ninety minutes with two breaks, and each candidate will get two minutes of speaking time in response to questions followed by one minute each for rebuttals.
What was slightly different is that while CBS said they reserve the right to cut candidates’ microphones, they will not mute the candidate who is not meant to be speaking as a matter of course. The debate will take place Tuesday night in New York City.
–Amber Duke
Leave a Reply