Biden Offers Olive Branch to Trump During Dueling Stops at Border

 Biden Offers Olive Branch to Trump During Dueling Stops at Border

It was the showdown Republicans have been clamoring for, expecting to win the battle over the border and the ultimate goal of the White House after November's elections: President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump both traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas on Thursday to address an issue Americans increasingly cite as a high priority.

But Biden – who has been on the defensive on immigration issues during virtually his entire presidency – offered an unusual policy olive branch to the very man he blames for blocking a bipartisan border security bill in Congress, asking Trump to work with him to Here's what I would say to Mr. Trump: Instead of playing politics with this issue, instead of telling members of Congress to block this legislation, join me – or I'll join you – in telling the Congress to pass this bipartisan border security bill," Biden said in Brownsville, Texas. "We can do it together. So Instead of playing politics with the issue, why don't we just get together and get it done?"

Trump, 300 miles away in Eagle Pass, Texas, offered no such cooperation, instead claiming (inaccurately) to have presided over the "most secure" border in history and blaming Biden for the killing of University of Georgia student Laken Riley – said to have been committed by an immigrant in the country illegall

"This is like a war. It's a military operation," Trump said, slamming the "Biden invasion" he claimed had led to a "migrant crime wave

A rapprochement between the two men is unlikely. Trump wants a wall – which polls show is now supported by a majority of Americans – while Biden is pushing for the bipartisan package to increase both law enforcement and legal resources to handle the influx of migrant

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President Joe Biden delivers remarks during a visit to the southern border, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Brownsville, Texas, as Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, looks on. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

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President Joe Biden delivers remarks during a visit to the southern border, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Brownsville, Texas, as Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, looks on. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

It was the showdown Republicans have been clamoring for, expecting to win the battle over the border and the ultimate goal of the White House after November's elections: President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump both traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas on Thursday to address an issue Americans increasingly cite as a high priority.

But Biden – who has been on the defensive on immigration issues during virtually his entire presidency – offered an unusual policy olive branch to the very man he blames for blocking a bipartisan border security bill in Congress, asking Trump to work with him to pass the bill.

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"Here's what I would say to Mr. Trump: Instead of playing politics with this issue, instead of telling members of Congress to block this legislation, join me – or I'll join you – in telling the Congress to pass this bipartisan border security bill," Biden said in Brownsville, Texas. "We can do it together. So Instead of playing politics with the issue, why don't we just get together and get it done?"

Trump, 300 miles away in Eagle Pass, Texas, offered no such cooperation, instead claiming (inaccurately) to have presided over the "most secure" border in history and blaming Biden for the killing of University of Georgia student Laken Riley – said to have been committed by an immigrant in the country illegally.

"This is like a war. It's a military operation," Trump said, slamming the "Biden invasion" he claimed had led to a "migrant crime wave."

A rapprochement between the two men is unlikely. Trump wants a wall – which polls show is now supported by a majority of Americans – while Biden is pushing for the bipartisan package to increase both law enforcement and legal resources to handle the influx of migrants.

Biden has been trying to seize control of issues the GOP has wielded against him and has used Congress' refusal to consider the bipartisan border package as a way to claim the high ground on immigration.

On the economy – a matter that troubles inflation-weary voters – the president has touted the record job numbers, high-performing stock market and overall economic growth as proof that "Bidenomics" is working.

On Wednesday, Biden hosted police chiefs at the White House and celebrated the large drops in violent crime rates across the country, countering the narrative that the country is less safe under his stewardship.

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But on those issues – immigration especially – Biden continues to struggle to win over voters.

Just 29% of Americans give Biden favorable marks on his handling of immigration, according to a recent poll by the Marist Institute for Public Opinion – down from 38% who approved of his performance in the issue in 2021. And despite rosy economic numbers, 41% of people approve of Biden's handling of the economy, with 54% disapproving, the survey found.

Politics, says Marist poll director Lee Miringoff, has two manifestations: "the perception and the reality. Perception is probably the stronger of the two," Miringoff adds, so it's hard for Biden to shake the narrative that the economy is poor and that he is overwhelmingly to blame for the situation at the border.

Further, worries about illegal immigration have risen in recent years – and not just among Republicans, says Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute.

"Part of the reason Democrats were able to take back the House in 2018 is that independents and [moderate] Republicans kind of rejected this idea of demonizing illegal immigration. They didn't like Trump's rhetoric, says Murray, whose poll this week found that more than 8 in 10 Americans see immigration as a "very serious" or "somewhat serious" problem.