FACT CHECK: Just Like JD Vance, Mike Johnson Tanked the Bipartisan Border Deal at Trump’s Command
July 16, 2024
In response to Mike Johnson fear mongering about the border after tanking the bipartisan border security deal at Trump’s command, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement:
“Donald Trump told his MAGA loyalists in the House and Senate – Mike Johnson and JD Vance – to ‘kill’ the toughest, fairest bipartisan security border deal in decades so that he could play political games with our national security, and they agreed. Trump will always put himself before the American people and before bipartisan solutions, and Vance was rewarded for this blind loyalty with a seat on Trump’s losing ticket.
“Tonight, Mike Johnson took the stage to tell lie after lie about his extremist Republican do-nothing caucus and blame anyone but himself for failing to do what he has said is clearly ‘a job for Congress.’ But President Biden didn’t wait in the face of MAGA obstruction – he took action to secure our border – and unlawful crossings are down 50 percent since. When the American people cast their ballot in November, they’ll remember that it was President Biden and Democrats who reached across the aisle to secure the border — not Trump and his MAGA minions.”
Tonight, Mike Johnson did exactly what his MAGA leader Donald Trump expects of him: He spun lie after lie to cover for Trump’s disastrous record of proposing law enforcement cuts and overseeing skyrocketing murder rates.
LIES:
Johnson: “We can’t survive the dramatic increases in violence, crime, and drugs that the Democrats’ policies have brought upon our communities. And we cannot allow the many millions of illegal aliens they’ve allowed to cross our borders to harm our citizens, drain our resources, or disrupt our elections. We will not allow it.”
FACTS:
Associated Press: “FBI: 2020 homicides up nearly 30%, largest 1-year jump ever”
Philadelphia Inquirer: “The Council on Criminal Justice, a D.C.-based research group, found that homicides in 21 American cities were up 32% between March and October compared with 2019. And some analysts believe 2020 could record the largest-ever single-year increase in murders in the United States.”
Jonathan Allen, NBC News: “When Trump was president, he proposed slashing federal funding for local police forces.”
Vox: “Donald Trump is defunding the police”
“President Trump has repeatedly proposed cuts in federal funding for police, criticized landmark legislation that boosted financial support for police departments, and is currently involved in blocking legislation that would greatly reduce pressure on local governments to cut police funding.
“In layman’s terms, he’s been trying to defund the police.”
Johnson continues to call the bipartisan border security bill “dead on arrival” even though he has repeatedly called for action to secure the border and has said it “is a job for Congress.”
NBC News: “If the GOP can capture total control of the government … [Johnson] said border security would be at the top of the legislative agenda right out of the gate.”
Johnson: “Our immigration system is broken. Reforming that system is a job for Congress.”
Johnson: “The crisis at our southern border has deteriorated to such an extent that significant action can wait no longer.”
Johnson: “I do think it’s past time to secure the border.”
Johnson: “We must insist — must insist — that the border be the top priority.”
Johnson: “I have said that very clearly from day one, we have to solve the [border] problem.”
JD Vance and numerous MAGA Republicans caved to Trump’s demands by helping tank bipartisan legislation to improve our immigration system and border security.
JD Vance: “[The bipartisan border security bill] does nothing to secure the border.”
New York Times: “Republicans Against Border Enforcement”
Vox: “Trump made this clear when he reportedly urged Republicans in Congress to turn against the bipartisan Senate border security bill scheduled for a vote Wednesday so that he could keep the issue alive through the presidential election. His supporters have largely fallen in line.”
CNN: “Trump, who is hoping to make immigration a key plank of his presidential campaign, has suggested on Truth Social that approving additional resources for the border would make Republicans ‘look bad.’”
Rolling Stone: “Border Patrol Supports ‘Strong’ Immigration Deal. Republicans Don’t Care”
Trump: “Please blame it on me.”
Trump: “I think [Republicans] are making a terrible mistake if they vote for the bill.”
CNN: “The border compromise would represent a dramatic change of immigration law on lines many Republicans have long supported.”
FACT: President Biden has taken real action to secure our border, leading to a decline in illegal border crossings.
Washington Post: “Illegal crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border have declined more than 50 percent in the six weeks since President Biden used emergency measures to curb asylum access, the White House said Tuesday, highlighting the drop ahead of a Republican National Convention evening program whose planned focus was crime and security.
“The current volume of illegal entries is the lowest since Biden took office, with about 1,900 per day at the border during the past week, according to a White House fact sheet citing the latest U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. Those numbers are comparable to the final weeks of Donald Trump’s term as president, CBP data show.”
Two-thirds of Americans support the bipartisan border security deal that MAGA Republicans refused to accept – all because of Trump.
Navigator Research: “Two in Three Americans Support the Bipartisan Immigration Deal”
“Two in three Americans supported the bipartisan immigration deal reached in the Senate, but that will not be taken up for a vote in the House. … On the Republican approach to the recent immigration package, Americans’ greatest concerns are that they are focused on the wrong issues and playing politics.
“The immigration deal earns support across party lines, including among three in four Republicans (net +58; 74 percent support –16 percent oppose), two in three independents (net +48; 64 percent support – 16 percent oppose), and three in five Democrats (net +32; 59 percent support – 27 percent oppose).”
Third Way: “Voters like the deal, both as a whole and individual components. … Across the board, both swing and base voters are remarkably aligned in favor of the big security components of the deal… It’s not just the tough on the border policies that voters like—they also understand that a major piece of restoring order must be providing orderly pathways for people to come to this country in other ways.”