Students at the University of California, Santa Barbara, (UCSB) had some strong opinions about President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy troops to the U.S.-Mexico border but seemed shocked when they learned former President Barack Obama did the same thing.
Trump issued a proclamation this month calling on Defense Secretary James Mattis to “request use of National Guard personnel to assist” with the Department of Homeland Security Department’s existing efforts to secure the border.
A video from Campus Reform found that students did not think presidents should have the authority to send the National Guard or any form of military to the country’s borders.
“I’m not a huge fan of the military to begin with … I think it would be a complete waste of money,” one student said, while another student called the military action at the border “uncalled for.”
A third student rhetorically asked, “Where do you draw the line on who can be here or not?” The interviewer instantly replied with the obvious answer: “At a border.”
“I don’t think it’s good to send militarized troops to people who are coming in unarmed,” another student quipped.
But when Campus Reform told the students Obama did the same thing, the students seemed surprised.
“Yeah, that’s kind of surprising,” one student said.
“When President Obama did it, I felt that there was different coverage as to what the intentions were,” another student said, backtracking from her earlier statement.
A third student said the difference between the two presidents’ actions came down to “publicity” and “false information.”
Trump and Obama were not the only presidents to deploy troops to the U.S. southern border. Former President George W. Bush sent 6,000 troops to the border — 2,000 more than Trump’s proposal.
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