TOPLINE: Former President Donald Trump continued his assault on a bipartisan border deal endorsed by President Biden, emphatically stating on Truth Social Saturday that “A BAD BORDER DEAL IS FAR WORSE THAN NO BORDER DEAL.” Lawmakers are urgently navigating the complexities of a high-stakes agreement on the southern border, which has emerged as a prominent issue in the ongoing election year.
KEY FACTS:
- Trump, in additional social media remarks on Saturday, characterized the border as a “WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION — OUR DESTRUCTION.”
- President Biden, countering Trump’s critique, issued a statement on Friday night, asserting that the deal represents “the toughest and fairest set of reforms” in U.S. history. Biden vowed to use new emergency authorities to shut down the border on the day he signs the deal into law.
- The fate of the bipartisan border deal in the Senate remains uncertain, with Trump’s criticism potentially impacting its progress. Trump, earlier on Truth Social Thursday, dismissed any Senate border deal as “meaningless” and a political advantage for “Radical Left Democrats,” casting doubts on the possibility of reaching a deal.
- Even if the Senate approves the deal, garnering support from congressional Republicans aligned with Trump could prove challenging. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) reportedly communicated to colleagues that the deal would be “dead on arrival.”
KEY BACKGROUND:
- The border issue holds significant importance for both Trump and Biden, who are likely to face off in a presidential rematch in November, based on current primary results and polling in the Republican primaries. Republican criticism of the Biden administration has centered on the border, with surges of migrants and ongoing conflicts between state and federal officials in Texas.
- Trump, known for his strict immigration stance, has heavily campaigned on securing the border. The Senate deal reportedly includes provisions allowing the Department of Homeland Security to turn away migrants during peak migration periods and is linked to emergency aid for Ukraine.