On Thursday, ABC’s Good Morning America and NBC’s Today tried to have their cake and eat it too, as they praised President Biden for finally taking executive action to secure the U.S.’s southern border, while also whining that Republicans forced him to do it. It was a seminar executive action they condemned former President Trump for enacting.
“President Biden is considering executive action on the border to stem the flow of migrants after congressional Republicans killed a bipartisan compromise on border security,” co-anchor George Stephanopoulos announced, framing it as Republicans forcing his hand.
Ignoring the fact that the White House and the liberal media had been claiming for years that Biden couldn’t do anything unilaterally to halt the flood of illegal immigrants, chief White House correspondent and chief Biden apple polisher Mary Bruce lauded Biden’s possible actions:
Well, I'm told this morning President Biden is considering possibly taking executive action to impose tough new asylum restrictions, including possibly barring migrants from seeking asylum if they cross illegally between U.S. ports of entry.
Bruce boasted that “President Biden is eager to show voters that he is taking this issue seriously” as “Republicans on the Hill, under pressure from Donald Trump, tanked a bipartisan border deal that contained significant new restrictions.”
She kvetched that “Republicans have seized on the chaos at the border, turning it into a political liability for the President, upping the pressure on Biden to act.” And she lamented that Biden’s executive order “would echo a 2018 effort by then-President Trump to bar and block migrants. It’s something Democrats staunchly opposed at the time, and it was blocked by the courts.”
Despite noting that Biden’s executive order “would likely face legal challenges” of its own, Bruce still commended it as “an opportunity [for Biden] to show he is doing something to address this crisis while Republicans, mired in their own in-fighting, have failed to do anything through legislation.”
The duality of bellyaching that Biden was pressured into taking action and touting the possible action to come was also present on NBC via correspondent Garrett Haake. “It speaks to both the scale of the crisis at the border and the political potency of the immigration issue that the White House is now considering taking actions they have long said only Congress could to stem the flow of migrants at the border,” he proclaimed.
“President would make the change without Congress after Republicans blocked a bipartisan border bill,” Haake added.
But on CBS Mornings, chief White House correspondent Nancy Cordes admitted that federal law already allowed the president to take unilateral action to crack down on illegal immigrants. “And so, now they're looking at a law known as 212(f) that's been on the books for more than 70 years,” she said. “It allows the president to suspend the entry of foreigners when it's determined that their arrival is detrimental to the interests of the United States.”
Cordes also admitted that the pressure Biden was under was not only coming from Republicans. “Well, he's gotten an earful from Democratic governors and mayors who say their cities are inundated by new migrants” and “he does not poll well on this issue,” she reported.
The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
ABC’s Good Morning America
February 22, 2024
7:03 a.m. EasternGEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: We’re going to begin, Robin, at the White House where President Biden is considering executive action on the border to stem the flow of migrants, after congressional Republicans killed a bipartisan compromise on border security.
Chief White House correspondent Mary Bruce starts us off. Good morning, Mary.
MARY BRUCE: Good morning George. Well, I'm told this morning President Biden is considering possibly taking executive action to impose tough new asylum restrictions, including possibly barring migrants from seeking asylum if they cross illegally between U.S. ports of entry.
Now, I’m told the President is considering a wide range of options, no final decisions have been made. But this does come, of course, after Republicans on the Hill, under pressure from Donald Trump, tanked a bipartisan border deal that contained significant new restrictions. And as President Biden is eager to show voters that he is taking this issue seriously.
Look, Republicans have seized on the chaos at the border, turning it into a political liability for the President, upping the pressure on Biden to act. But if he does impose this executive order, it would echo a 2018 effort by then-President Trump to bar and block migrants. It’s something Democrats staunchly opposed at the time, and it was blocked by the courts. And if he does take this action, it too would likely face legal challenges.
But even so, politically it would give the President an opportunity to show he is doing something to address this crisis while Republicans, mired in their own in-fighting, have failed to do anything through legislation.
