The panel on MSNBC’s “Daily Rundown” Monday criticized President Obama’s decision not to visit the Southern border on his trip to Texas this week amid the chaotic flooding of immigrants to the area.
“It’s a Katrina moment, right?” USA TODAY reporter Susan Page alleged. “He’s going to a fundraiser, and not going to the border where there’s a crisis?”
Page said that the president will need to to “take tougher action” to deport the young migrants at the border, adding that the crisis should anger Republicans and Democrats alike.
“This is unacceptable to more than Republicans on immigration, the situation we have there,” she detailed. “And boy, is that going to anger some of his core constituents who have wanted him to do more on immigration, not less.”
The USA TODAY reporter called the situation a “lose-lose” for Obama in terms of politics. Clearly, Democratic lawmakers are already disappointed in the president, if the statements of Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) are any evidence. Over the weekend, Cuellar described the Obama administration as “one step behind” on immigration. Other politicians, like Texas Gov. Rick Perry, have also voiced their criticism.
On Thursday, White House spokesman Josh Earnest stood by the president’s decision to leave the border out of his trip this week, asserting, “The reason that some people are suggesting the president should go to border when he’s in Texas is because they’d rather play politics than actually trying to address some of these challenges.”
Susan Page wasn’t the only one on MSNBC to criticize the president’s decisions on immigration. New York Times reporter Carolyn Ryan explained that the immigration crisis contributes to the “sense that things aren’t working” and thus perpetuates the “national funk that we’re in.”
“I think this crisis on the border does go to this question of competence,” Ryan continued, “and the problem with immigration is that there hasn’t been a consensus or clarity about our policy. And that’s why I feel like it can be a negative for President Obama, where it seems like so many things in this country just aren’t working.”
Host Chuck Todd chimed in agreement, listing several reasons why people feel things just aren’t working in Washington.
“You can see that 30-second TV ad, right?” Todd elaborated. ” You start with the health care rollout. You go to the VA. You go to Syria. You go to Iraq. And, you go to the border. And you can draw a straight line.”
Watch the “Daily Rundown” clip below, via Washington Free Beacon.
