Biden’s old, but shrewd. At SOTU he baited Republicans, snared them on the border issue. Dems can build on this.
President Biden is old and wily, a bit halting in body but still vigorous of mind, as evidenced by the way he handled himself while Republicans heckled him about the border issue during Thursday night’s State of the Union speech.
He certainly didn’t back down – nor did he get defensive. He simply fired back, using facts for ammo, silencing the hecklers by calling attention to the hopelessness of GOP rhetoric on the border.
First off, the shrill Marjorie Taylor Greene called out the name of the young Georgia woman who was recently murdered, the suspect being an undocumented alien. Greene’s use of the incident as some sort of example of the dangers of illegal immigration fell flat.
Biden (seen above delivering last year’s SOTU speech in an image posted on wikimedia commons) replied, “how many thousands have been killed by legals,” then turned the exchange into a talking point, saying, “but look, if we change the dynamic at the border—people pay these smugglers 8,000 bucks to get across the border, because they know if they get by and let into the country, it’s six to eight years before they have a hearing, and it’s worth taking the chance on the 8,000. But, if it’s only six weeks, the idea is it’s highly unlikely that people will pay that money and come all that way knowing that they’ll be able to be kicked out quickly.”
Next, Biden put the pressure on Trump himself, adding, "if my predecessor is watching — instead of playing politics and pressuring members of Congress to block this bill, join me in telling Congress to pass it."
The exchange turned into a rhetorical one-two punch.
First, Biden’s response to Greene about how many murders are committed by “legals” actually dovetails with study after study after study concluding that immigrants, legal or illegal, are less likely to be arrested for violent crimes than natural born citizens. Republicans are trying to create a false generalization built on a few high-profile incidents, and as Biden calmly demonstrated, that tactic won’t fly when facts come into the conversation.
Then Biden deftly made the transition from Greene’s fearmongering shouts to articulating a clearly developed policy proposal that makes illegal border crossings untenable in the first place. Greene set herself up.
Later, in much bigger picture-fashion, Biden was able to call attention to the fact that a bi-partisan plan on securing the border, hammered out in the senate, went down the drain when Donald Trump intervened, urging house Republicans to kill the bill so that the border issue could provide campaign fodder for the GOP in the coming election.
As Biden demonstrated, that brazenly transparent ploy by Republicans trying to turn the border into campaign material can actually become a political asset to Democrats. Dems have made the case that they have a plan, that many Republicans support it, but that under orders from Donald Trump, the GOP won’t endorse it and make it law.
It’s ironic that a bunch of rude and rowdy Republicans, trying unsuccessfully to rattle Biden, got their lack of seriousness on fixing our border exposed.
John Tsitrian is a businessman and writer from the Black Hills. He was a weekly columnist for the Rapid City Journal for 20 years. His articles and commentary have also appeared in The Los Angeles Times, The Denver Post and The Omaha World-Herald. Tsitrian served in the Marines for three years (1966-69), including a 13-month tour of duty as a radioman in Vietnam. Reprint with permission.
