President Biden questioned Thursday whether former President Trump was talking about himself after his rival called a White House immigration executive order announced this week “pathetic.”
Trump said this week that “Biden’s executive order will not stop the invasion, it is weak and it is pathetic,” adding that he believed the order was just for show ahead of the debate taking place later this month.
When asked by ABC’s David Muir to respond to Trump’s characterization that the order was “weak” and “pathetic,” Biden responded: “Is he describing himself? Weak and pathetic?”
“Come on, everyone knows what happened,” said the president. “We had a deal, it was much broader than that, much better, much more accepted in every way, and he got on the phone and told the Republicans: don’t support it. This will hurt me, it will help Biden.”
Biden was referring to the bipartisan border bill negotiated in the Senate, which Republicans have twice blocked. As the deal neared, Trump urged the Republican Party to block it, ensuring it would remain a major issue before Election Day.
As a result, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) nullified the border agreement in February, calling it “dead on arrival,” and Trump in January told his supporters that it was okay to be accused of have rejected the bill.
That agreement included $20 billion for border security and would have given the federal government temporary authority to expel migrants when the average number of daily crossings exceeded a set threshold. It would also have ended “capture and release” protocols and raised standards for asylum exams.
Biden’s order, however, would turn away asylum-seeking migrants who illegally cross the southern border at times when there is a high volume of daily encounters.
Earlier this week, Biden blamed Trump for leaving him no choice but to act to stem the influx of migrants at the border after the bill failed.
Muir interviewed Biden in France on Thursday morning, ahead of events marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings. Biden made comments on Thursday emphasizing the importance of alliances, subtly rejecting Trump’s America First agenda.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
