Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy confronted White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre about Vice President Kamala Harris’ handling of the ongoing border crisis during a press briefing on Thursday. Doocy specifically mentioned that the House Democrats were being handed out cards with talking points about Harris and her role in addressing the influx of immigrants from the Northern Triangle countries and Mexico.
“Why are Democrats so sensitive about the vice president and the border crisis?” Doocy inquired, while reading through one of the cards. Jean-Pierre fired back with her own question, directed at Republicans: “Why are Republicans so sensitive about admitting to their role in obstructing a bipartisan border deal?” She accused Republicans of voting twice against a deal that could have helped alleviate the crisis, simply because former President Donald Trump advised them to do so. Jean-Pierre emphasized that this is an important issue that most Americans are concerned with and urged Republicans to take action instead of deflecting blame.
Doocy then shifted the focus to Harris’ failure to address the root causes of migration, stating that it has become a major talking point leading up to the 2024 election. Jean-Pierre refuted this claim, saying that Harris was never designated as the “border czar” and that she was only tasked with addressing the root causes of migration. She praised both Harris and President Biden for taking action to address the crisis.
Jean-Pierre also pointed out that independent fact-checkers have debunked the false characterization of Harris as the “border czar.” This term has been widely used by the media, including by Axios in a 2021 article titled “Harris, appointed by Biden as ‘border czar,’ said she would be looking at the ‘root causes’ that drive migration.” The article received a community note on X, highlighting the discrepancy in how Harris’ role has been portrayed.
Harris was appointed to address the root causes of migration to the US, not to be a “border czar,” as Doocy suggested. In her role, Harris made trips to Guatemala and Mexico before finally visiting the US-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas on June 25, 2021. During her visit, she toured a Border Patrol facility and a processing center.
Despite these efforts, the number of illegal encounters at the US-Mexico border reached a record high of 2.3 million in the 2022 fiscal year and has continued to rise in the current fiscal year. This has prompted six Democrats to join House Republicans in supporting a resolution condemning Harris for her “failure to secure the United States border.”
DOOCY: "Why are Democrats so sensitive about the Vice President and the border?"
KJP: "Why are Republicans so sensitive about actually not owning up to them getting in the way of a border deal?" pic.twitter.com/gxDpLNqNq5
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 25, 2024
Doocy’s questioning of Jean-Pierre revealed the ongoing political tensions regarding the border crisis and the role of Vice President Harris in addressing it. While Republicans point fingers and accuse Harris of neglecting her responsibilities, the White House maintains that she was never designated as the “border czar” and has been actively working to address the root causes of migration.