The Trump campaign has targeted Vice President Kamala Harris’ immigration tactic, using it as ammunition in two new ads that falsely portray her as the administration’s “border czar.”
Despite the sudden change in candidates and adjustments in just over a week, the Trump campaign remains focused on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Managing the U.S.-Mexico border has been a political burden for President Joe Biden, but that burden will fall on her shoulders if Trump takes over from Harris and seeks to address the root causes of Central American migration.
Republicans have jumped on the task, accusing her of being solely responsible for the record numbers of migrants arriving at the U.S. southern border over the past three years.
Both Trump campaign ads feature excerpts from a 2021 NBC interview in which Harris was pressed about the fact that she had not yet visited the U.S.-Mexico border and stumped by claiming she had not yet been to Europe, an answer that left administration officials at the time perplexed.
Meanwhile, another post showed a video of Harris dancing at the event and saying, “She’s America’s border czar, but she’s let us down.”
Both ads end by calling Harris “failed. Weak. Dangerously liberal.”
“After gutting the toughest border deal in decades, Donald Trump is running his campaign on boilerplate lies because his record and ‘plan’ are extreme and unpopular,” Harris campaign spokesman Amar Moosa said in a statement Tuesday.
Harris’ immigration records date back to March 2021Biden tasked the vice president with overseeing diplomatic efforts in Central America amid a massive influx of unaccompanied migrant children, while the Department of Homeland Security retained responsibility for overseeing border security while Harris focused on long-term solutions.
As the vice president’s campaign takes shape and immigration remains a top concern for voters, her team is being forced to tackle a mission that has seen early success in Central America as a result of major private sector investment but is tied to the administration’s larger immigration agenda.
