Joe Biden has received a lot of
criticism over his border policy
that I think it's fair to say
the vast majority coming from
Republicans, but he has his critics
among the Democratic Party and on
the left as well on AOC, has been
one of the most outspoken ones.
So, I want to show you a bit of
video recently, of representative
Ocasio-Cortez talking about some
of the conditions that led
to what we're seeing right now.
Zooming out a bit from
the situation at the border as we
see it today.
>> We have this surge which people
are saying, and we have to address
that term, because it is wrong and
people are pushing back when we
talk about this.
And when they say that, the reason
why we shouldn't use that term is
because this is not an invasion.
And in fact, when you want to talk
about that, we should be owning
the fact that US foreign policy has
contributed to the destabilization
of these regions and
of the very countries that are now
mired in a lot of violence that
these families and
these children are fleeing.
So, we cannot use that term,
not to police it,
not to be politically correct, but
because we know what the level and
the steps of dehumanization
lead to.
We just experienced this last year.
And I'm not going to allow
the Stephen Millers of the world,
to pretend that he didn't
do what he did,
and to act like this is the same.
>> Exactly.
So, look, I think she's done a very
good job of laying out some of
the differences in the policy.
But that said she has also talked
about the conditions there and
described them as currently as
barbaric, as horrifying.
And so she is hardly a sort of just
like getting in line Biden defender
on this.
And I think that's what we need,
is someone who can acknowledge
the splits from the past where they
exist, but also acknowledge when
they might not be as big as some
might want to imply that they are.
What do you both think?
>> Yeah, I think we are, as AOC
seem to acknowledge we're out there
causing some form of chaos, and
then when the consequences come our
way we're like,
whoa, we're not ready for this, so
we're trying to reject it or
act like we had nothing to do with
it when the role we played helped
enable the situation.
And knowing that the Biden
administration was on pace to take
in more than 17,000 unaccompanied
minors in March, that's wild and
I guess greater than the record set
before in May 2019.
And we need to be prepared for
these consequences of our actions
abroad, and not try to pretend that
it should not happen or
that it's a deficiency necessarily
innate in other countries,
as opposed to a direct result of
things that we've done.
>> Mm-hm.
>> Yeah,
We have a question to answer in
this country.
Are we going to be a nation
that's transactional, or
are we going to be a nation that's
transformational?
When AOC talks,
she talks from the heart.
She talks from
a position of righteousness.
Right is right, wrong is wrong.
And she's labeled a radical,
by those who do not talk from
the position of right is right,
wrong is wrong.
Politics has become so ingrained in
double-talk and corruption, that
when a person comes to the Capital
with a clear moral compass,
that person is problematic and
that person is extreme.
If we were to
eliminate the politics of it all,
and just act as if we're having
a simple conversation with AOC,
we would say AOC is right and
this other foolishness is wrong.
But once you provide the context
and the lens of politics,
all of a sudden,
right can be argued as wrong,
and wrong can be argued as right.
I appreciate the politics of AOC.
I think it's the politics
of progression.
And I think eventually our entire
country, and the narrative of this
country will get to that point if
we make the right decision,
while we're right here at the split
in the road.
Because we are in the fight
of the soul of this nation.
>> Well, why don't we demonstrate?
The difference between
right and wrong,
in a quick little back and forth.
So let's start with
a bit more right, it's Friday.
Let's start on a good foot.
>> Okay. >> So you'll see it
tweeted, a lot of people who
are just now suddenly horrified at
the dehumanizing conditions at
our border, are the same folks
who dehumanize immigrants and
help to build these cages in
the first place.
When we tried to stop this
infrastructure over a year ago,
we were overruled by both parties.
And that was opportunistically
jumped on by Ted Cruz, a guy who
all of a sudden really cares about
the border, saying AOC explains the
real darn position, abolish ice.
Full open borders, which would make
the Biden border crisis which he is
desperately trying to turn into
a hashtag, even worse.
She says nothing else works.
Really? Last year we had the lowest
illegal immigration in 45 years.
This year we have the highest in
20 years.
And as I alluded to on the damage
report, I can't tell what's
difference between 2020 and 2021?
There's probably nothing systemic
about the year that
influences international migratory
patterns and all of that.
But anyway, she responded saying
Ted, this is pretty rich coming
from someone who fled their own
home and responsibilities during an
environmental crisis to cross the
border and seek refuge in Mexico.
Also you funded cages,
expanded cages, and yet
you're complaining about cages.
You have no policy just puff,
which I have tried to love more and
found that I cannot.
It is just perfect.
And yeah, so he took his little
trip to the border, and
hidden the brush, and then him and
Lindsey Graham took a little ride
on a boat, and they put
on vests and they were strapped in
to make sure that they don't fall
over the edge and everything.
And suddenly they really care about
the border.
They don't talk much about any of
the individuals, or what would
happen to those individuals if they
removed from the bad circumstance
they're in these facilities to
then being thrown out of the border
as they would if they could.
But they want you to believe that
they care about it, that
it's something serious for them.
>> No, they don't care at all.
They want to continue to do as they
please, have the rules only apply
to other people, and
just like you had acknowledged and
him crossing the border when Texas
was going through dire straints.
So, he could go enjoy the benefits
that are south of the Rio Grande.
It's another example of the fact
that we essentially have a nation
that survives on hypocrisy, or at
least in terms of our leadership.
And they're not here looking to
help the people at all or
to make change, but rather to
continue to fill their coffers and
to play this as them game.
>> Yeah, I lost all respect.
And it's not a lot of people I can
say this about, but I lost all
respect for Ted Cruz when he led
Donald Trump talk about his wife.
And then he comes out hardcore
on television,
saying, don't talk about my wife.
This is blah blah blah,
like a tough guy.
And then he becomes the greatest
boot licker of Donald Trump before
the presidency, and
during the presidency.
So I lost a lot of respect for
that guy back then.
Now he has the audacity to talk
trash to anyone, especially AOC?
He does not want the smoke
from AOC.
And Ted Cruz, one of the most, lack
of a better word, hated individuals
even inside of his own party,
because of his smugness, and his
arrogance, and his unwillingness
to believe that there's
a another way other than his way.
So, I don't like talking about
the guy much but we have to because
he's in news, but
I have no respect for that dude.
>> Yeah, move with him
is obviously some calculated thing
that he thinks is going to benefit
him in the future, politically,
and sometimes instincts are right,
he is still the senator,
regrettably, of Texas.
>> Yeah. [LAUGH] >> But
nobody likes him.
He's the Matt Gaetz of the senate
honestly.
Nobody in his party even likes him.
And I get that.
The new president comes in to do
a COVID aid bill, that's quite
popular vaccination is going ahead
of schedule, which is popular.
The infrastructure bill once people
start talking about is probably
going to be pretty popular, so
they need something.
But honestly, shipping a whole
bunch of Republicans,
putting them on a little dinghy,
and floating them on a river,
that just to me reminds
me of their immigration policy,
which they may not seem to
understand this wasn't popular.
People did not like the Trump
administration immigration policy,
and this is their best thing that
they can distract with?
His instincts just really
seem off in this case.
I'm glad that there is a lot of
attention being put on the border,
even by Republicans, because maybe
some conservatives watching this
when they see some of the footage,
will for the first time actually
care for the human suffering.
And not just think of it as some
sort of invading army storming
our borders.
Maybe we'll get
a little bit of that.
A little bit of like accidental
empathy.
But if it leads to a better policy
that does put pressure on Biden,
that's a good thing
because Biden is wrong.
He's being like at
an unprecedented number.
I get it, they're being too slow.
They have basically
unlimited funds.
They can house people in better
conditions than they are right now.
>> Right. >> So Ted Cruz is awful.
He's just the worst person.
But hey, maybe accidentally,
he can be a part of accomplishing
something good here.