Fox News used Wednesday night’s Republican presidential primary debate to paint the immigration discussion as being about crime, chaos, and the border wall — but not about desired immigration numbers or Americans’ pocketbook costs.
Co-host Bret Baier asked former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchison, “Earlier this month, images showed suspected cartel members crossing into Texas with rifles. Do you consider this an invasion? Would you authorize a lethal force along that border?”
Co-host Martha MacCallum asked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, “Governor DeSantis, as President, would you support sending U.S. special forces over the border into Mexico to take out fentanyl labs, to take out drug cartel operations? Would you support that kind of American military use?”
Former Vice President Mike Pence was asked, “Why would you be better at this issue than Governor DeSantis? DeSantis, on the campaign trail, refers to your administration as ‘not finishing the wall.'”
Fox’s emphasis on chaos and crime reflects the pro-migration view of its board, which is headed by Rupert Murdoch and includes former Republican Rep. Paul Ryan. In 2013, Murdoch backed the “Gang of Eight” amnesty, and in 2018, Ryan blocked a GOP reform bill when Donald Trump was president. Earlier this year, that board took Tucker Carlson off the air, so suppressing one of the strongest voices for a pro-American migration policy.
Most corporate boards welcome President Joe Biden’s mass migration because it helps to push wages down and push up housing costs.
Numerous polls show that most Republicans, many independents, and a large segment of Democrats believe migration is an economic burden on Americans. On August 22, for example, The New York Times reported that 51 percent of independent voters and 67 percent of Republican voters said immigration was a burden “over the past 20 years or so.”
Similarly, a June 3-6 YouGov poll of 1,500 citizens, reported that a 36 percent plurality of all respondents said immigration — legal and illegal — makes the country “worse off.”
Those views were decisive in getting Donald Trump elected president in 2016, even though they are downplayed by established media outlets.
Before the Fox News event, Breitbart News asked the candidates about the pocketbook aspect of migration — and got direct answers from Trump, DeSantis, and Pence.
Yet the Fox News announcers still did not ask about migration during the first hour of the 2023 debate.
Late in the debate, when the viewership was lower, MacCallum asked former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — but not Pence or DeSantis — “Another issue that is related to this is that almost 7 million migrants have crossed this border … during the Biden administration. So, Governor Christie, what would you do about the 7 million who are here? How would you handle that? What would you do?”
Christie did not answer directly, but when pressed, he said Biden’s illegals should be sent home.
Like Fox News, the Republican candidates were also eager to downplay the pocketbook damage of migration, partly because GOP donors strongly favor the continued inflow of foreign consumers, renters, and workers.
For example, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum was eager to call for more spending on the border, not changes in border laws. “The Biden administration wanted to put 87,000 people in the IRS as opposed to giving the money in the support we need to our own border patrol,” Burgum said.
“If we just spent $10 billion we could finish the wall,” said Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) before pivoting to drug smuggling. “For 5 billion more, we can have the military-grade technology to surveil our southern border to stop the flow of fentanyl and save 70,000 Americans a year.”
“We will partner with the Mexican military and we will hunt down and destroy the cartels that are claiming lives in the United States,” Pence said.
DeSantis also emphasized drugs, not jobs and wages, saying he would support the use of military force on the border. “Yes, and I will do it on day one. Here’s the thing. The cartels are killing tens of thousands of our fellow citizens. … The president of the United States has got to use all available powers as commander in chief to protect our country and to protect the people,” DeSantis said.
“There would be lethal force used by the Border Patrol law enforcement as needed to protect the border — absolutely,” Hutchinson said.
Christie also argued that the border chaos is slowing legal immigration, “We have so many wonderful people from around the world who are waiting in line following the law to try to come here and pursue the American dream. Those people are waiting and waiting and waiting because we haven’t dealt with the problem of the folks who are here.”
In August 2022, 54 percent of Americans told National Public Radio that Biden’s migration is an “invasion.” The 54 percent “invasion” majority includes 76 percent of Republicans, 46 percent of independents, and even 40 percent of Democrats. Just 19 percent of all respondents — or one in five — rejected the “invasion.”