President Biden's vocal support for the Sinema-Murphy-Lankford border bill is rooted in hopes of solving his political problems, not national security issues, a top Republican claimed.
The claim came in the wake of incidents where Biden appeared to commit substantive gaffes or be seeking the proper term in several silent moments, which other observers said simply adds to his political conundrums and fuels questions about his cognitive abilities.
National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Steve Daines, R-Mont., told Fox News the issue with current border control policy may not be the dearth of legislation, but the lack of will to enforce existing federal statute.
"President Biden has not enforced anything that we put in place. There's a provision in [the bill], a paragraph that says he can create an emergency order and not enforce some of these provisions that are in that bill," Daines said Tuesday on "The Story."
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"This is the problem: President Biden and the Senate Democrats do not want to really solve the problem. They want to solve their political problem. It's a huge liability for them politically."
Daines suggested Biden's visible irritation at Trump during remarks at theWhite House Tuesday could be because the incumbent wants a "political outcome" to his benefit in an election year, rather than a secure border.
Trump has claimed only a "fool" or a left-wing Democrat would support the Senate legislation, while Republicans have rallied around H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act authored last year by Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla.
Meanwhile, Washington Examiner chief political correspondent and Fox News contributor Byron York remarked the border bill has "Election 2024" written all over it, and that Biden did not need to make conservatives' opposition to the bill all about Trump.
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York said there are numerous legislative differences conservatives have with the bill regardless of Trump's staunch opposition, and that Biden himself can take executive actions immediately if he truly seeks a secure border.
"When he says something like that (invoking Trump), politicizing this on a level that's even higher than its already high level of politicization, [it's] pretty amazing," he said on "America Reports."
On "The Story," Daines said Senate Democrats can indeed ask Biden to apply Trump-era tools to secure the border if they really want to see illegal immigration curbed, adding Biden inherited a secure border from his predecessor and squandered it.
"The reason you've got the White House and President Biden doing a tap dance at the moment is because President Biden's approval numbers at this point in his presidency are the worst in 75 years of American history," he said.
Biden's political struggles have been exacerbated by increasing gaffes as of late. The president paused mid-remarks for several seconds after mentioning a "response from the opposition" in the Middle East, before a reporter shouted out "Hamas?" and Biden regained his train of thought.
Separately, Biden spoke Sunday about a recent conversation he had with France's president – identifying him as Francois Mitterrand, a socialist who died in 1996. Biden appeared to confuse Miterrand with incumbent centrist Emmanuel Macron.
Fox News media analyst and "MediaBuzz" host Howard Kurtz commented on "The Story" that Biden's "age issue" is very much apparent, after being presented with that clip.
Kurtz added it is unbelievable Biden declined a Super Bowl interview for the second year in a row.
In 2023, the interview would have been with FOX via Fox News, and this year, CBS would have had the honors.
Biden did sit for an interview prior to the 2022 big game, with NBC News anchor Lester Holt.
"It is incomprehensible to me that he gets a blow-out jobs report number. Does he go on television and tout his economic program? No," Kurtz said.
"This is the second year in a row. It's CBS this time – what, he's afraid of Norah O'Donnell or Scott Pelley?"
