On Wednesday’s broadcast of NewsNation’s “The Hill,” Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) stated that Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) sending a delegation to the border to tell people the state’s shelters are full doesn’t prove President Joe Biden’s policies have failed, but Biden could do things better “and that’s exactly why he took the action that he did.”
Host Blake Burman asked, “There was a local story, Congressman, I couldn’t help but notice, today, in your area, headline, the Governor ‘Sends Delegation to Southern Border to Spread Message that Massachusetts Shelters Are Full.’ You’re some 2,000 miles away, Congressman, give or take, from the southern border. That story there, you’ve got to send the Governor down there to say, stop it. Does that highlight that the President’s policies have failed?”
Moulton answered, “No. It highlights the fact that Congress needs to get its act together, that we need to do something. And that’s what Congress was willing to do before Trump torpedoed the bill. So, the Governor’s right. I’m with the Governor. We have a problem. This is a problem all over America. That’s why it’s significant that, with President Biden’s recent executive action, numbers of crossings are way down, but the way to fix this, ultimately, is to change the law. Republicans refused to do it when they controlled everything, all of Congress and the White House. Democrats want to do it, we even found Republicans to work with in the Senate. Trump torpedoed it. Trump is playing politics with immigration. That’s the message that every American needs to understand tomorrow night.”
Burman then turned to Moulton’s criticism of Biden’s messaging and asked, “Is it just simply messaging, or does he have a policy issue here?”
Moulton responded, “It’s mainly messaging, because of what I said, the Republicans are worse on immigration. They’ve done more to politicize it. But are there things that Biden could be doing better? Yes, and that’s exactly why he took the action that he did. The President is hearing Americans, he’s hearing Americans from places like the ones I represent way up in Massachusetts, this is a problem. This President is taking action. Trump is playing politics and kicking the can down the road.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett