During an interview this weekend on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) — whose district is, to be clear, in Nebraska — called the southern border the central issue for his constituents. His district is about 1,000 miles from Fort Bliss in Texas, which sits near the actual border. About 1,000 miles!
Bacon made the claim in a discussion of former President Donald Trump’s rhetoric. Trump recently faced sharp criticism after sharing a video on his social media site Truth Social that included imagery depicting President Joe Biden bound in an apparent kidnapping situation. Bacon — known as a Trump supporter — tried half-heartedly to distance himself from the rhetoric, though he was somewhat excusing in his attitude, characterizing it as a purported problem on both political sides. And Bacon tried to orient focus instead towards what he characterized as pressing issues.
“But, secondly, when it comes to this election, we don’t need that,” Bacon told the host. “The issues are on our side. In our district, the number-one issue, the number-two issue, the number-three issue is the border. And we should be focusing on these issues and quality of life. And we will win.”
Someone should tell Trump. While he often references the border in public commentary while campaigning, he expends massive deals of energy complaining about his various legal troubles, including both criminal and civil proceedings. He alleges secretive involvement in the cases by the White House and characterizes the whole thing as an election interference plot considering his ongoing campaign for president. Whether at the federal level or the state one, there’s no real-world evidence for those theories.
Whether in the form of proposed funding pushed by the Biden administration or a bipartisan legislative deal in the Senate, Republicans themselves have tanked recent prospects of bipartisan progress on the border — action it’s presently required is bipartisan considering the divisions in partisan control of the federal government.
