On Tuesday's PBS NewsHour, correspondent Stephanie Sy misleadingly tried to diminish the Donald Trump administration's success in building more than 200 miles of border wall since last year by asserting that only three miles of it is "new wall."
But, by contrast, on Wednesday's Fox and Friends, co-host Brian Kilmeade gave Yuma, Arizona, mayor Douglass Nicholls a chance to clarify that the new wall is a great improvement over the substandard, ineffective barriers that were previously there.
On the PBS Newshour, as correspondent Sy filed a report on President Donald Trump's visit to Arizona, she concluded:
STEPHANIE SY: He had a roundtable with Border officials, and the White House had touted that visit as a way for Trump to talk about the 200 miles of border wall that had been built. In fact, since Trump took office, only three miles of new barrier has been erected.
On Wednesday morning, Fox touted the plunging number of illegal border crossings that has occurred over the past year, with Kilmeade noting that numbers have dropped substantially from more than 132,000 from May of last year down to just over 21,000 for May of this year.
Toward the end of the interview, he gave his guest a chance to respond to criticisms that most of the border wall is not really "new" wall:
BRIAN KILMEADE: He's got about 210 miles -- I saw him signing it yesterday. For you personally, can you tell me -- because I read the Wall Street Journal -- they said this is mostly replacement wall. The President and his staff say, "No, this is new wall." What is it?
Nicholls recalled that in some sections of the old barriers, "illegal crossers were able to just simply burrow under where it only went down a few inches or climb over or cut through. Some places were completely open which literally you could drive a car across."
He added:
And then some places had barbed wire. So it really replaced that, and so -- they referred to it as "new" because it is something that has never existed there before from the strength of the physical wall and also the electronic and surveillance wall that's there, and the accessibility for the agents in the area to enact the enforcement.
Relevant transcripts follow. Click "expand" to read more.
PBS
PBS NewsHour
June 23, 2020
JUDY WOODRUFF: As we reported earlier, President Trump traveled to the state of Arizona today. Our Stephanie Sy is in Phoenix. … You are just outside the President's event. Tell us what else you've learned about his visit to Arizona today.
STEPHANIE SY: That's right, Judy. I am outside the Dream City Church here in Phoenix. The President landed in this coronavirus hotspot to hold a rally in this church behind me which has a capacity of about 3,000 people. The church, I am told, is filled to capacity waiting for the President to speak.
This was billed as an event for students, but we saw much more than students here -- really a mix of ages that we saw -- and it's 110 degrees out here, so it does feel like a slightly more lowkey Trump rally, just a handful of vendors and not the carnival atmosphere that we're used to seeing at a Trump rally. Earlier today, the President was near Yuma, Arizona.
He had a roundtable with Border officials, and the White House had touted that visit as a way for Trump to talk about the 200 miles of border wall that had been built. In fact, since Trump took office, only three miles of new barrier has been erected.
(…)
Fox News
Fox and Friends
June 24, 20208:19 a.m. Eastern
BRIAN KILMEADE: You got some impressive numbers. In May of 2019, there were 132,856 illegals crossing the border. You got that down to 21,475. How much does that have to do with the border system that's now in?
DOUGLASS NICHOLLS, MAYOR OF YUMA, ARIZONA: It's critical because instead of having a completely open border or a very penetrable border for miles and miles and miles in the remote desert, we have more of a focus -- the Border Patrol agents can hone in on areas of vulnerability -- excuse me -- instead of just having to look at absolutely everything. So it really provides a focus for them, and the ability to get more done with fewer people.
KILMEADE: And, Mr. Mayor, the President likes to focus on Yuma -- most people talk about the need to control that border -- he's got about 210 miles -- I saw him signing it yesterday. For you personally, can you tell me -- because I read the Wall Street Journal -- they said this is mostly replacement wall. The President and his staff say, "No, this is new wall." What is it?
NICHOLLS: Well, basically what it is -- there is -- some sections had landing map wall where illegal crossers were able to just simply burrow under where it only went down a few inches or climb over or cut through. Some places were completely open which literally you could drive a car across. And then some places had barbed wire. So it really replaced that, and so -- they referred to it as "new" because it is something that has never existed there before from the strength of the physical wall and also the electronic and surveillance wall that's there, and the accessibility for the agents in the area to enact the enforcement.
