Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was rattled during a live segment on CNBC when Joe Kernen refused to let him blame the border crisis on former president Donald Trump.
Kernen interrupted Buttigieg as he attempted to spin the border crisis, defend Biden’s policies, and gaslight the American public.
The host reminded Buttigieg that Biden and other White House officials have suddenly become concerned about the unprecedented flow of illegal migrants into the U.S. through Biden’s open border.
Kernen became visibly frustrated as Buttigieg refused to acknowledge that Biden’s messaging on the border has caused a flood of migration.
“The whole move to try to come up with [a solution] by the administration … that didn’t come until it became clear it was going to be a major campaign issue, and only then did the Biden administration get interested,” Kernen said.
“Every time I hear those talking points –,” Kernen said.
“Well, let’s be clear, though,” Buttigieg responded.
Kernen shot back, interrupting Buttigieg, and regained control of the interview.
Watch
CNBC (@JoeSquawk): "We know that [Biden] got rid of all the things keeping that were keeping the border closed that President Trump had put in…"
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 5, 2024
BUTTIGIEG (visibly flustered): "That's literally not true!"
(It is literally true) pic.twitter.com/btJXlz83kp
“Let me finish first,” he said. “Every time we hear those talking points, it’s suddenly, ‘It was Republicans who ruined the border.'”
Kernen continued:
“That’s why people get so frustrated. We know what President Biden said about inviting people in. We know that he got rid of all the things that were keeping the border closed that President Trump had put in. We know that he got rid of all those. So when you say it’s not his fault –.”
Buttigieg cutt the host of again.
“It’s literally not true,” he said. “He got rid of family separation.”
However, Kernen was not falling victim to Buttigieg’s parroting of the White House’s talking points.
“Did you see 7.2 million people come in during the Trump administration?” Kernen pressed, “[Immigration] was a trickle at that point.”
Buttigieg responded:
“He got rid of the policy to tear children out of the arms of their parents,” Buttigieg claimed.
“This is part of the problem with why there is a disconnect, I think,” Kernen said.
Buttigieg avoided talking about Biden’s decision to end Title 42, which kept asylum seekers in Mexico during the pandemic.
Buttigieg had no answers when Kernen reminded him that American communities were now under siege as millions of illegal aliens flooded the country.
READ: Majority of Americans Now Want Border Wall, Thanks to Biden
