How Harris will try to flip the script on border concerns on the campaign trail
By
Ross O'Keefe
August 10, 2024 2:58 pm
.
One of former President Donald Trump‘s strongest arguments against Vice President Kamala Harris is her management of the country’s southern border. But lately, she’s tried strategies to blunt his attacks.
Speaking to a crowd of thousands in Glendale, Arizona, Harris reminded the audience of her experience close to a border.
“I was attorney general of a border state. I went after the transnational gangs, the drug cartels, and the human traffickers,” Harris said. “I prosecuted them in case after case, and I won, so I know what I’m talking about.”
She then said, “[Trump] talks a big game about border security, but he does not walk the walk,” blaming Trump for Congress‘s failure to pass border legislation earlier this year.
The attack is a newer one for Harris, who has been criticized by Republicans for her shifting stance on the southern border. As a presidential candidate in 2020, she said that illegal border crossings shouldn’t be prosecuted. This year, a Harris campaign advisor told Politico that her stance is “the same as the administration’s — unauthorized border crossings are illegal.”
Democrats have generally shied away from tackling immigration as a campaign and legislative issue as much as Republicans have in recent years. But Harris shifted that narrative slightly Friday.
“We know our immigration system is broken, and we know what it takes to fix it: comprehensive reform,” she said. “That includes strong border security and an earned pathway to citizenship.”
A new campaign ad also sought to reinforce Harris’s record on the border.
“As vice president, she backed the toughest border control bill in decades. And as president, she will hire thousands more border agents and crack down on fentanyl and human trafficking. Fixing the border is tough. So is Kamala Harris,” a voice read over videos of Harris’ political career.
more
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/presidential/3117619/how-harris-will-try-to-flip-the-script-on-border-concerns-on-the-campaign-trail/
