Ted Cruz on Kamala Harris visiting border this week: ‘They realized oh crap, we gotta do something’
The Texas senator says that ‘there is a reason’ the vice president wants to travel to El Paso as opposed to the Rio Grande or the migrant detention facilities
Politico faced mounting criticism for blaming Vice President Kamala Harris’ upcoming visit to the border on an "unrelenting chorus" of Republican critics.
On Wednesday, Politico announced that the vice president will make her first visit to the U.S.-Mexico border since being appointed by President Joe Biden to tackle the "root causes" of the border crisis. The visit is currently set for Friday which will mark 93 days since her original appointment.
Politico released the announcement, though many were quick to attack the news site for claiming only Republicans criticized Harris for not visiting the border. In fact, the article framed the upcoming visit as the result of "an unrelenting chorus of criticism from Republicans over her failure to visit there."
KAMALA HARRIS TO MAKE FIRST TRIP TO BORDER MORE THAN 90 DAYS SINCE BEING TAPPED FOR CRISIS ROLE
Politico also framed the attacks as a political strategy saying "Republicans have zeroed in on the increased number of migrants heading to the border as a line of attack against the Biden administration, repeatedly calling it the ‘Biden border crisis.’"
Many on Twitter pointed out that many Democrats have also previously called out Harris for not visiting the U.S.-Mexico border.
Townhall writer Julio Rosas highlighted a letter penned by Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar, Texas, on June 16 that urged the vice president to see the border crisis first-hand. County Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez, a Democrat, has also spoke out against the Biden administration claiming "I don't think that that's at the top of their agenda, it's really not."
Several other news outlets framed Harris' trip as a result of Republican criticism rather than bipartisan criticism. CBS specifically wrote, "Republicans have criticized Harris for failing to go to the border until now" with no mention of Democrat voices. CNN described Harris as being "dogged by Republican criticism of her absence at the border" with CNN reporter Priscilla Alvarez also labelling it "criticism from Republicans."
Former President Donald Trump took credit for the move stating, "If Governor Abbott and I weren’t going there next week, she would have never gone!" Last week, Trump announced he would visit the border with Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on June 30.
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The White House meanwhile insisted that the timing of the trip was simply an "appropriate time for her to go to the border."
Harris is set to visit El Paso, Texas accompanied by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Prior to this visit, she laughed off questions about visiting the border while dismissing the idea as a "grand gesture."