Harris has been in office for four years, assigned to address the root causes of this country's border issues, and she has done nothing.
Now, as a candidate, she will finally visit the border, but it is clearly a political stunt that most believe will backfire.
Talking Points…
- Harris to go to Arizona border town
- Reaction to announced trip
- Analysis
On Friday, the Harris campaign will head to Arizona, and Harris announced a big stop. Harris is expected to stop at a border city in Arizona. The trip will be part of a big swing through most of the battleground states over a long weekend for Harris. Donald Trump immediately reacted to Harris' announced trip, posting:
"After almost four years, Border Czar Kamala Harris has decided, for political reasons, that it's time for her to go to our broken Southern Border. What a disgrace that she waited so long."
The pushback against Harris visiting the border now was fast and furious. The obvious criticism was why Harris had not visited the border at the height of the crisis. Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) hit Harris along those exact lines, stating:
"She is not going when it was at its height. She's going to probably get a totally cleaned-up photo op. And my guess is … she's going to probably get the same treatment some others get. They're going to clean up the desert, clean everything up so it looks clean for her instead of as bad as it is environmentally, as well as a danger for the people coming across.
"This isn't even being cynical. It's just being a realist. I mean, she's going down there so she can get some pictures taken over at the border looking like she knows what's going on."
Former Bill Clinton adviser Mark Penn also chimed in, believing this is a huge mistake by Harris, playing right into Trump's hands. He stated:
"I think that's the last thing she should do. She is trying to avoid the issue of the border as much as possible. She's actually gaining steam by pushing the economic issue and bringing that to the fore, and she's put out a few economic plans that have been more or less unchallenged.
"I don't think her going to the border makes any sense at all. Frankly, that plays right into Donald Trump, who wants to make the border the number one issue."
To my knowledge, this will be only the second time that Harris has visited the border since taking office. Her first visit was in June 2021, when she went to El Paso, TX, for a quick visit, but only after mounting pressure from the media and Republicans.
If Harris was serious about the border, she would be going to the hot spots, which would mean going to Texas. However, she won't do that because she would have to deal with a Republican governor instead of a Democrat governor in Arizona. She would also not get a very warm welcome in the state.
In the most recent polling, Trump has a double-digit lead on the border against Harris, so I am not sure this little photo-op is going to do anything to help her case. People can see the record of the Biden administration, and we all know that as soon as Harris gets into office if she wins, the borders will be open again. The only way to stop this is by putting Trump in office to lock the borders down and get immigration back under control again.
