Democrats can now turn the tables on the politics of the border
Last week, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell publicly said a deal linking Ukraine aid and border security reforms would get a Senate floor vote this week.
This week, McConnell privately told his Republican colleagues that “the politics on this have changed” because of Donald Trump’s opposition to any compromise, casting doubt whether the deal can move forward.
Now the politics have really changed … in ways that can benefit President Joe Biden.
I’ll explain, but first, here’s the latest from the Washington Monthly:
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- The Least Harmful Way to Leave Trump on the Ballot: Constitutional law professor Peter M. Shane offers the Supreme Court a strategy to keep Trump on the ballot without damaging the 14th Amendment. Click here for the full story.
- Nikki, We Hardly Knew Ye: Former host of MSNBC’s Hardball and Washington Monthly Contributing Writer Chris Matthews explains where the former South Carolina governor went wrong in New Hampshire. Click here for the full story.
- Nikki Haley, Dean Phillips Learn the Hard Way as Ageism Flops in New Hampshire: My look at the latest example of ageism as failed campaign tactic. Click here for the full story.
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For months Republicans have mercilessly hammered Biden for failing to stem the migrant influx, which drives media coverage and shapes voter priorities. In a recent The Economist/YouGov poll asking voters what is their “most important issue,” immigration ranks second behind inflation.
(Among Republican voters, immigration ties inflation for first. Among independents, immigration is tied with jobs for third, behind inflation and health care.)
Ignoring what Biden has already done to restrict asylum seekers who don’t apply in advance of crossing the border, Republicans demanded Biden fix the border and refused to consider Ukraine aid without tough border reforms.
Biden called the bluff.
He encouraged bipartisan Senate negotiations and offered significant concessions. While we haven’t yet seen the specifics, several Republican negotiators praised the deal. Last week, Senator Lindsey Graham said to his GOP colleagues, “To those who think that if President Trump wins, which I hope he does, that we can get a better deal—you won’t.”
Trump was vociferously unmoved, prompting skepticism of the deal from House Speaker Mike Johnson and angrier denouncements from other Trump sycophants like Senator Marco Rubio.
In a post on X.com, Rubio partially gave away the game: “A ‘deal’ will allow Biden to pretend he’s doing something about the border but it won’t solve the problem.” In other words, Republicans shouldn’t agree to any new border policies, because it might make Biden look good.
Today, Senator Mitt Romney explicitly called out the cynicism: “I think the border is a very important issue for Donald Trump. And the fact that he would communicate to Republican senators and congresspeople that he doesn’t want us to solve the border problem because he wants to blame Biden for it is really appalling.”
Having promised in the 2020 campaign to bring back bipartisanship, Biden ran a risk of being perceived as a failure if Republicans concluded that complete obstructionism made more political sense than selective cooperation.
Biden has racked up several bipartisan wins already, from infrastructure to semiconductor manufacturing to gun safety. But that could get overshadowed by a Ukraine-border double bust.
However, now Romney and other Republicans have, directly or indirectly, admitted that blocking progress on the border—a problem Republican themselves angrily insist is a dire threat to our national security—only serves Trump’s political interest and not the national interest.
If the deal cannot be salvaged, then Biden can turn the tables.
He can say he was and is prepared to make concessions and upset members of his own party in order to compromise, while Trump—as always—is only interested in helping himself.
If the deal can be salvaged, then Biden can add another success to his list of bipartisan wins.
And that’s still possible. McConnell publicly said today that he still supports the deal, and he ultimately may not care if that makes Trump mad.
See what I wrote last month: Why Mitch McConnell Just Might Want to See Biden Reelected.
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Best,
Bill
