When the bipartisan border bill was being negotiated, Donald Trump promptly trashed it, and Democrats uniformly blamed him for its failure, which Trump welcomed.
“As the leader of our party, there is zero chance I will support this horrible open borders betrayal of America,” Trump told his supporters last month. “I’ll fight it all the way. A lot of the senators are trying to say, respectfully, they’re blaming it on me. I say, that’s okay. Please blame it on me. Please."
And when it was clear the bill was dead on arrival, that's exactly what Joe Biden did.
“If the bill fails, I want to be absolutely clear about something: the American people are going to know why,” Biden said last week.
He added, “Every day between now and November the American people are going to know the only reason the border is not secure is Donald Trump and his MAGA Republican friends. It’s time for Republicans in Congress to show a little courage, to show a little spine, to make clear to the American people that you work for them, not for anyone else.”
Related: Biden Accidentally Admits That He Has the Power to Secure the Border
Trump wanted the blame, and Biden obliged, but, amazingly, Trump isn't the one getting the blame.
According to a recent ABC News/Ipsos poll, most Americans blame Congress, with Republicans and Democrats getting pretty much equal blame and more Americans blaming Biden than Trump.
"Americans find there is blame to go around on Congress' failure to pass legislation intended to decrease the number of illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border -- with about the same number blaming the Republicans in Congress (53%), the Democrats (51%) and Biden (49%). Fewer, 39%, blame Trump," reports ABC News. "More Americans trust that Trump would do a better job of handling immigration and the situation at the border than Biden -- 44%-26% -- according to the poll."
VIP Exclusive: The Left is Trying to Flip The Script on the Border Crisis. It Won’t Work.
This is a very significant finding because it tells us that Americans' views about the border crisis, and who's to blame for it, are pretty much baked into the cake. Voters have not only been witnessing a historic border crisis for years. They have also been witnessing the Biden administration denying it exists up until recently.
“For too long, we all know the border’s been broken,” Biden said last month. “It’s long past time to fix it.”
As refreshing as it was for Biden to concede that there's a problem at the border, the sudden decision to acknowledge it is a response to polls showing immigration is a top concern of voters and an issue that benefits Trump. Biden doesn't actually care about securing the border -- he just wants to look like he's being proactive about it before the election. It is quite clear from this poll that the voters aren't falling for it. They see through Biden's rhetoric, and nothing is going to convince them he has a genuine desire to secure the border.
If Biden can't get the public to blame Trump when he told them to and Trump even asked for it, Biden is in real trouble.
