My thoughts on Karine Jean Pierre's job performance have been rather clear, and clear-eyed, since the very beginning. Having spoken to multiple people who used to occupy her exact role, as well as a number of public-facing Democrats, let's just say that my assessment is not an outlier. This week, on the subject of the border crisis, the White House Press Secretary did an especially poor and mendacious job on consecutive days. I say this not because she garbled words or offered little of value, which is par for the course, but because she told a massive lie, then got snippy and churlish in response to legitimate questioning about that lie. Let's start with the lie, in case you missed it:
KJP: “When it comes to illegal migration, you have seen it come down by more than 90%, and that’s because of the actions that this president has taken.” pic.twitter.com/amp3rZi1kT
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 1, 2023
This assertion was wildly, astonishingly untrue, as multiple Fox News journalists who cover the border firmly established (oddly, all the other 'fact-checkers' and truth-to-power journos were asleep at the switch for some reason):
👇👇👇 Down 90%? Illegal immigration is seeing a massive uptick across the entire SW border… data doesn’t lie - 22k encounters last 72 hrs 😳 https://t.co/YkCiq7rJTN
— Griff Jenkins (@GriffJenkins) May 2, 2023
NEW: @PressSec claim that “illegal immigration is down 90%” stands in stark contrast to the actual data. Compare this year to this time last year. CBP Sources say:
— Griff Jenkins (@GriffJenkins) May 2, 2023
FYTD23 thru 5/1 - 1,441,193
FYTD22 thru 5/1 - 1,304,398
Difference: 136,795
(Note: btwn & at POEs)@FoxNews
These statistics, I'll point out, do not include the tens of thousands of monthly got-aways. Well over 1.2 million known 'got-aways' have entered the US illegally since Biden took office, plus an unknowable number of got-aways who snuck in entirely undetected. But as you can see from the numbers, illegal immigration is not down by anywhere close to 90 percent. Indeed, illegal immigration is significantly up this year, compared to last year -- and last year was an unmitigated, historic disaster. Last month was the 25th consecutive month of at least 150,000 encounters at the Southern border, with the totals spiking back up with the approach of Title 42's expiration. Nothing about Jean Pierre's made up fable was remotely accurate. When Peter Doocy raised this issue the following day, she rudely cut him off in the middle of his substance-based question, accusing him of engaging in "dramatics." Watch this clip, then tell me which person is being dramatic:
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DOOCY: "You said yesterday that when it comes to illegal migration, you've seen it come down by more than 90%. Where did that number come from?"
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 2, 2023
KJP: "If the dramatics could come down just a little bit...The president put in place a parolee program...the data has shown us it has… pic.twitter.com/1rdryjDJZH
What an ugly exchange for her. She could have owned up to her mistake, explaining that she misspoke about one small, fleeting statistic and falsely applied it to the broader issue. Instead, she was unprofessional to a reporter and pretended the context of her comment was obvious all along. As I said on the radio in a biting monologue, sneering condescension is a bad look even if you're someone who's highly capable and correct on the facts. KJP is neither, so that attitude is even more off-putting. If you have the time, I (self-servingly) recommend watching this clip (my attire is related to a hockey score from the night prior):
Now that Title 42 is officially ending in a week, and Team Biden is facing a re-election campaign, they are suddenly deploying a limited number of US troops to the border to help with the mess (they wouldn't be doing this if they statistics were 'down 90 percent' or whatever), and they've apparently suddenly discovered that they can re-institute successful Trump-era policies if they really want to. Magic:
Flashback to 2018, when Kamala Harris called deploying troops to the border "inappropriate," "political," and a "demonstration for TV cameras" pic.twitter.com/gnRjvxrlKe
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) May 2, 2023
oh so they *can* resurrect successful policies after all! https://t.co/H2j709dYQV
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) May 3, 2023
I'll leave you with the obvious rejoinder to the latest border crisis-related race baiting from New York City's mayor, who might as well have come out and said "Greg Abbott is racist:"
Sanctuary cities don’t want to give sanctuary? Odd. https://t.co/mHXrkWmvn5
— Rita Panahi (@RitaPanahi) May 3, 2023
Yes, as a matter of fact, many of the most prominent, loud-and-proud, preening "sanctuary cities" happen to be run by black mayors at the present time -- mayors who want to posture about their supposed compassion, then leave the burden of their preferred policies' consequences to others. Is Abbott also racist for 'targeting' the Democratic governors of these states, most of whom happen to be lily white -- from Newsom, to Hochul, to Polis, to Pritzker? And is Adams racist for relocating illegal immigrants to the doorstep of our neighbor to the north, whose Prime Minister sometimes pretends to be black? What a joke.
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