Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre ripped Gov. Greg Abbott for his cruel stunt of busing migrant adults and children to Vice President Kamala Harris’s residence.
Video:
Karine Jean-Pierre, “The fact that Fox News and not the Department of Homeland Security, the city or local NGOs were alerted about a plan to leave migrants, including children, on the side of a busy DC street makes clear that this is just a cruel, premeditated political stunt.” pic.twitter.com/Gyph9WUM98
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) September 15, 2022
The White House Press Secretary said:
Republican governors interfering in the process and using migrants as political props is shameful, reckless, and just plain wrong.
….
The fact that Fox News and not the Department of Homeland Security, the city, or local NGOs were alerted about a plan to leave migrants, including children, on the side of a busy DC street makes clear that this is just a cruel, premeditated political stunt.
This is what they are doing.
And a couple more things, the migrants, including children, who arrived in Martha’s Vineyard were misled about where they were being taken and what would be provided when they arrived is also deeply alarming. The children that Governor Abbot abandoned in Martha’s Vineyard, the children that Governor DeSantis abandoned as well deserve better, and they deserve better.
The Press Secretary does not speak for the Department of Justice, so she can’t say that what DeSantis and Abbott are doing is illegal. The DOJ will make that determination.
Both DeSantis and Abbott have White House ambitions, and they are both up for reelection in November.
Trump taught his MAGA party that cruelty toward migrants and children is politically beneficial with Republican voters. The issue is that the electorate is much larger than the Republican Party. Abbott and DeSantis may get away with these stunts in their respective states, but they will pay the price nationally because the other lesson they should have learned from Trump is cruelty to migrants and children is not a general election-winning strategy.
Mr. Easley is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association