Karine Jean-Pierre nixes Ted Cruz’s border invite
White Home press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre haughtily declared Tuesday that she wouldn’t be “lectured” by Republicans on border safety after publicly turning down an invite from Sen. Ted Cruz to see migrants strolling throughout the US-Mexico frontier for herself.
The Texas Republican attacked Jean-Pierre on his “Verdict with Ted Cruz” podcast over the weekend after the president’s chief spokesperson instructed reporters on Aug. 29: “It’s not simply that individuals are strolling throughout the border.”
“There are two and solely two potentialities,” Cruz instructed co-host, Michael Knowles. “Both she is intentionally ignorant — she has no concept what’s occurring on the border — or she’s intentionally mendacity. There’s not a 3rd chance. It’s one or the opposite.
“So, I’m gonna make an invite proper now to Karine Jean-Pierre,” Cruz added. “For those who consider it’s not occurring that individuals are strolling throughout the border, Karine, I invite you, come to Texas. Come to the Rio Grande Valley, spend one hour on the border, and I promise you, you and I’ll see dozens, if not lots of, of individuals strolling throughout the border.
“You’ll be able to decide any rattling hour of the day you need,” the senator went on. “You’ll be able to come at 2 within the morning, you may come at midday. You will note them coming as a result of they’re coming each single hour.”
When requested by a reporter to reply to Cruz Tuesday, Jean-Pierre answered: “I’ve been to the border. I went in 2018. I stood exterior amenities the place the Trump administration was separating households, tearing infants out of their moms’ arms. A few of these children haven’t been reunited with their households.”
“And so, one factor I’ll say is, I definitely don’t want lectures or invites from Republicans concerning the border or border insurance policies,” she added. “And I definitely gained’t take recommendation on the border from anybody who voted in opposition to securing [a] document stage of funding for the Division of Homeland Safety.”
Cruz didn’t instantly reply to Jean-Pierre Tuesday however tweeted: “President Biden is in denial that there’s an ongoing humanitarian disaster on the border that he created” whereas linking to a narrative about migrants drowning whereas making an attempt to cross the Rio Grande.
Jean-Pierre sparked the controversy final week when she was requested by Fox Information’ Peter Doocy why unvaccinated tennis star Novak Djokovic couldn’t enter America to play within the US Open tennis match whereas unvaccinated migrants arrive from Mexico by the hundreds.
“It’s not that easy,” the press secretary mentioned. “It’s not simply that individuals are strolling throughout the border. Now we have a plan in place. This isn’t like switching the lights on. This goes to take a course of.”
Cruz wasn’t the one Republican to name out Jean-Pierre for her feedback.
Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) sent a letter to the White Home final week suggesting that she and President Biden each make a sojourn to the border area to see for themselves the implications of the administration’s insurance policies.
“Since President Biden has assumed the Oval Workplace, practically 5 million unlawful aliens have been encountered on the southern border – lots of whom have been launched into the nation and not using a identified vaccination standing,” he wrote within the Sept. 1 missive.
“I signify a border state and function the Congressional Border Safety Caucus co-chair. I’ve many years’ value of expertise inspecting border and immigration points,” he continued. “I strongly consider {that a} single border go to would improve your data on this self-inflicted disaster.”
