Trump uses border visit to assail Biden’s policies
Trip underscores GOP’S continued embrace of leader
Fresh off his first rally since leaving the White House, former President Donald Trump stepped further back into the political spotlight with a visit to the southern border on Wednesday, hammering the Biden administration for its immigration policies amid a decades-high spike in crossings.
Trump was invited to South Texas by the state’s governor, Greg Abbott, and joined by a handful of House Republicans, who made the trip from Washington to stand by his side.
Abbott, who is up for re-election next year and is considered a potential 2024 presidential candidate, has taken up Trump’s immigration mantle, vowing to continue building the southern border wall, which the Biden administration has suspended.
Trump was also joined by a cadre of former members of his administration, including the ex-acting homeland security secretary, giving the event the feel of a journey back in time for Trump, who continues to wrongly insist he won the 2020 election.
There is no evidence of the widespread fraud he claims.
The visit underscores the extent to which Republicans, both nationally and in the states, continue to embrace Trump as their leader, despite his loss last November and his ongoing election falsehoods.
It also demonstrates how the GOP is embracing Trump’s signature issue of immigration as they look to recapture control of Congress in next year’s midterm elections.
The event comes a day before Trump’s company and his longtime finance chief are expected to be charged with tax-related crimes stemming from a New York investigation into the former president’s business dealings.
Trump did not respond to questions about the charges as he participated in a briefing with state officials on Wednesday.
While President Joe Biden has enjoyed high approval ratings in the first months of his administration, immigration has consistently been a weak spot. A May Associated PRESS-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found more than half of Americans — 54 percent — disapprove of his handling of the issue, compared with 43 percent who approve. And a recent Quinnipiac University poll of Texas voters found 64 percent disapprove of the way Biden is handling the situation at the border; 29 percent approved. (Abbott fares better on the issue, with voters split 46 percent-47 percent.)
Trump has hammered the issue in nearly every appearance he has made since leaving office in January under the cloud of a second impeachment and the insurrection at the Capitol by his supporters.
On Wednesday, he continued to assail the Biden administration for reversing the policies he’d enacted as he received a border security briefing in Weslaco before a tour.