House Speaker Kevin McCarthy called out CNN on Monday after a host on the left-leaning network asserted that claims about the southern border being “open” are “talking points.”
What is the background?
On Sunday, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) tried informing CNN host Jim Acosta of the seriousness of the border crisis, which has seen nearly 4 million migrants enter the U.S. under President Joe Biden’s watch.
But Acosta ignored the facts and offered up his best impression of a White House spokesperson.
“It’s open. I mean, nobody can deny that,” Norman said.
“The border is not open. That is something that is peddled as a talking point — it’s not true,” Acosta responded. “There are fences. There are walls. There are Border Patrol agents who work on the border.”
What did McCarthy say?
During a press gaggle at the Capitol, CNN reporter Manu Raju asked McCarthy what needs to change about his “strategy” to pass a funding bill to avert a government shutdown.
McCarthy agreed that something needs to change and knocked out two birds with one stone. On one hand, he noted that CNN’s rhetoric is wrong, while on the other he urged Republicans to keep the government funded to ensure that border enforcement authorities get paid.
“Something’s got to change,” McCarthy said. “I can refer to your network, CNN, referred to yesterday that an ‘open border’ is a talking point.
“Well, we just set a new record of 11,000 people came across illegally. The record was just Friday, a few days before, of 10,000,” McCarthy continued. “I’m not sure how you continue to report — when you see what’s going on across this nation — to continue to fund the government to secure the border? I think members should be for that.”
Kevin McCarthy Lays into CNN Reporter to Reveal What Drives Himwww.youtube.com
Customs and Border Protection sources told Fox News there were approximately 11,000 migrant encounters at the southern border from Sunday to Monday, making it the “single highest day in recent memory.”
That number, of course, excludes migrants whom authorities never encountered.
Meanwhile, the Washington Free Beacon obtained internal government documents showing the Biden administration knew that a large population of migrants was preparing to come to the U.S. months ago.
Despite their advance knowledge, the administration failed to take action, either to prepare local communities overwhelmed by the surge or to forestall the surge completely.
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