Republican strategist Mike Murphy predicted that the surge on the southern border and the unprecedented number of children in US custody will become a political tool for the GOP to rally its base against the Biden administration – and to divert attention from the failure of former President Trump in the fight against the corona pandemic.
“There are those within the Republican Party who are saying, ‘Look, we can change the topic of the debate from Biden’s action on coronavirus … compared to Trump’s failures, to a disaster at the border,’ Murphy said Wednesday. “That’s our sheet music, that means the debate is heading our way.”
The Biden government has defended its approach to the situation on the Mexican border. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has attributed the dire state of the US immigration system to the policies of the Trump administration.
Murphy told CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith” that he could see Trump “turned on the foghorn on the right and started the political debt machine.”
Murphy, a political analyst for NBC News, said he thinks there is a lot of political fear within the GOP to move on towards citizenship.
He said Republicans are unlikely to pass legislation, in part because of the “shadow of Donald Trump and Trump’s vengeful primary candidates coming after you in a Republican primary.”
The White House was not immediately available to comment.