Republicans hounded President Joe Biden ahead of his Thursday trip to the U.S.-Mexico border, his second visit since taking office three years ago.
“This is only his second time at the border EVER in his 50-year political career,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) posted on X. “We don’t need more talk and photos. We need enforcement of U.S. law.”
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said he expects Biden’s visit to Brownsville, Texas, to be similar to his January 2023 trip to El Paso.
“I’m here to predict he’s going to do what he did in El Paso, which is hide every illegal immigrant and put on a photo op that’s fundamentally deceptive,” Cruz told Fox News host Sean Hannity Monday evening.
Former Texas Republican Rep. Mayra Flores, who represented the district between Brownsville and the Gulf Coast in 2022, claimed Biden was only headed south because his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, was headed to the Texas border the same day.
“He’s coming because President Trump is coming to South Texas. That’s the only reason why he’s coming,” Flores said in a Fox Business interview Wednesday morning. “He’s just coming just to take pictures and, you know, to make it seem like he’s actually doing something when we all know he’s not doing nothing.”
Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI) suggested Biden would be upstaged by Trump. They will be roughly 300 miles away from each other. Trump is scheduled to spend part of Thursday in the border town Eagle Pass.
“So Pres. Biden scheduled a visit to the southern border the same day as former Pres. Trump? Biden’s leadership on the border is abysmal and he’s going to be upstaged by Trump,” Fitzgerald posted on X Tuesday. “Let’s be clear: Biden’s policies created this crisis and he’s done nothing to fix it.”
Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) expressed hope that Biden would see the border crisis, in which more than 8 million noncitizens have been encountered at the border in three years, for the serious issue it is.
“I hope he finally opens his eyes, without having his border czar who speaks for him with him, to see what the American people already know. The southern border’s in chaos,” Daines said.
Biden was asked about the overlap in border visits during a visit to an ice cream shop on Monday. He claimed that he did not know Trump was also going to the border.
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“The plan to go Thursday — what I didn’t know is my good friend apparently is going,” Biden said, referring to Trump.
Asked by a reporter if he would meet with immigrants arrested at the border, Biden said he could not share his specific plans for security reasons.
