During the Trump administration, the media narrative said the president was “heartless” when it came to dealing with the crisis at the border. The leader of the free world was cruelly detaining children and putting them in cages. Now, the border situation is more disastrous than ever. On cue, those who condemned President Donald Trump for his supposed brutality are either praising President Biden or acting sympathetic toward his plight.
Consider the CNN writer whose Trump immigration rhetoric, “Taken from their parents: There is nothing right about this,” softened to “The southern border is Biden’s biggest test yet” under Biden. (Biden’s “heart is in the right place,” and “Biden should be applauded for his early moves on immigration,” the author writes.)
Under the Trump administration, Amnesty International called child separation “torture.” Now, it simply requests that Biden consider the children’s “best interests.”
Yet, a good portion of the influx of migrants is directly attributable to the new administration. In just the second month of Biden’s presidency, there were 22,000 more encounters on the border than the previous month. Remarkably high numbers of those stopped included adults traveling alone and children without any supervision.
Some individuals who have crossed are even on the terror watchlist. The onslaught is difficult to contain. But the new administration refuses to compare its response to that of its predecessor even though crowded, jaillike facilities and “kids in cages” are a reality.
The border crisis and reaction to it confirm two things.
First, the media focus is often directed not toward the innocent caught up in the dangerous chaos but toward Democratic politicians. In an effort to shield their own from criticism, the media present those who come after Trump as better leaders in all things just by virtue of not being him.
Second, the immigration system is broken, and leadership from both parties struggles with how to tackle it. Yet, we’re given the impression that Biden is more compassionate and equipped than his predecessor. In reality, Biden is dealing with a surge that he is both responsible for and unable to address in an efficient, safe, and satisfactory manner. The Associated Press reported:
The country has been hearing for the past several years that Trump’s immigration policies were horrendous. These ideas were presented in a way that made it seem the situation at the border would be much better if only a Democrat could win the presidency. Now that one has and reversed Republican policies, the situation for children, noncriminal adults, and the nation looks worse than ever. But there are no apologies or reviews of the recent past. Instead, the current occupant of the White House receives far less condemnation and much more understanding.
There is no reason to look at the southern border crisis with any measure of dishonesty just because you prefer the man in the Oval Office. However, as things worsen and disaster looms, that is exactly what too many are doing, somehow comforted by the fact that Biden is not Trump.
Kimberly Ross (@SouthernKeeks) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog and a columnist at Arc Digital.
