President Joe Biden’s former press secretary, Jen Psaki, offered a shocking admission that Biden’s executive order on the southern border was meant to address a “political vulnerability.”
Psaki discussed the political implications of the border crisis on MSNBC on Wednesday.
“Politically, this is one of the biggest vulnerabilities,” Psaki said.
🚨Jen Psaki ADMITS: Regardless of the details, Biden's border EO is to address a political vulnerability.
"It is a political vulnerability for the president and his campaign, they know that, they knew they would have to do something like an executive order before the election… pic.twitter.com/ff9C6aqV0o
— Edgar A Barrios (@Edgar_A_Barrios) June 6, 2024
Jen Psaki, Joy Reid, and Rachel Maddow are laughing on MSNBC at the fact that voters in Virginia care about immigration:
Maddow: “Well, Virginia does have a border with West Virginia.”
pic.twitter.com/MDyjJuUkzn— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 6, 2024
“Regardless of who’s mad about the details of what’s in here and what isn’t in here, it’s a political vulnerability for the president and his campaign,” she continued. “They know that. They knew they would have to do something like an executive order before the election politically as well. And that’s what we’re seeing play out.”
Psaki also admitted Wednesday that the border is “broken.”
“The border is broken for a range of reasons including security being broken at the border,” Psaki said during the TV segment. “The wall’s not going to fix it. I mean, technology has advanced, I would say, over the past couple of decades.”
Biden’s executive order was announced on Tuesday. The order will shut down the southern border when more than 2,500 migrants cross illegally every day for seven days in a row.
Once triggered, the order will remain in effect until two weeks after daily crossings drop to an average of 1,500 crossings a day for seven days in a row, according to officials.
On Wednesday, the first day of the order, Border Patrol apprehended about 4,000 illegal immigrants, Fox News reported, citing Customs and Border Protection sources.
Biden declined to take questions about his executive order on Tuesday, including from a reporter who asked him, “Why now?”
The president’s move comes as immigration continues to dog him in public opinion as the election cycle heats up.
Earlier this year, immigration surged to become the top issue on voters’ minds, bumping inflation down to second place, polls showed.
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In the battleground states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, immigration ranks second in importance after only the economy, which typically dominates presidential elections, a new poll shows.
Back in March, Psaki laughed with MSNBC host Rachel Maddow about immigration being the top voter concern in Virginia.
“Well, Virginia does have a border with West Virginia,” Maddow joked.
“Right, but you’re thinking, like, what?” Psaki responded.
Meanwhile, Biden has reversed many of former President Donald Trump’s border policies aimed at slowing the flow of illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border, including the Remain in Mexico policy, which forced illegal migrants to stay on the Mexican side of the border while they awaited their asylum hearings.
