Vice President and Border Czar Kamala Harris finally got around to visiting the U.S.-Mexico border, on Friday, with a little over a month before Election Day. On the topic of her long-overdue visit, ABC News –which is 100 percent in the tank for Harris – hyped her agenda for the day during Good Morning America. Co-host George Stephanopoulos and chief White House correspondent Mary Bruce teamed up to mislead viewers about when her last visit was. But CBS Mornings and NBC’s Today provided better context.
In the opening teases for the show, Stephanopoulos suggested the Vice President was “set to make her first visit to our southern border since becoming the nominee, as she looks to gain ground on former President Trump on a top issue.”
The use of the phrase “since becoming the nominee” was ambiguous to the point that it could leave some viewers with the misunderstanding that visiting the border was something that she did in recent months, but just had not yet been there since at least August. In reality, she had not been there in over three years as vice president.
Bruce parroted that overly ambiguous language as she hyped the trip, and while helping to make the case for Harris vs. former President Donald Trump on border security:
Well, immigration has been one of Kamala Harris' greatest vulnerabilities in this race. And today, she's going to tackle the issue head on, making her first visit here to the border since entering the race.
We are told she is going to call for more resources here at the border, outlining more security measures including a plan to try and combat fentanyl struggling and human trafficking, she’ll push for additional resources and border agents; all things that were included in that bipartisan border deal that Donald Trump urged Republicans to block earlier this year. And that's a point Kamala Harris will make here today as well.
The ABC “journalist” also defended Harris from Trump’s criticisms of the administration’s years of inaction in securing the border.
“He has said she has done the worst job in the history of any border, even though, of course George, we have seen in recent months that encounters here at the border have come down since the Biden administration imposed new asylum restrictions,” she huffed, while omitting the fact that they waited until six months before Election Day to put those rules in place.
Contrast ABC’s phrasing with that of CBS Mornings, where co-host Tony Dokoupil more accurately reported that being to the border was “something she has not done in more than three years.” Unfortunately, senior White House correspondent Ed O’Keefe was still reading from the leaked Democrat talking points, falsely suggesting Harris’s only duty was to address “root cause” of migration and not border security.
Over on NBC’s Today, correspondent Gabe Gutierrez also noted that “Harris is preparing to visit the U.S. southern border for the first time in more than three years.”
It was a fact that was more accurately expressed on ABC’s website. Actually, the opening sentence of their online report admitted it: “Vice President Kamala Harris will visit the U.S.-Mexico border on Friday -- her first trip there in more than three years -- to call for tougher security measures and attack former President Donald Trump on an issue that has plagued her, a senior campaign official said.”
The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
ABC’s Good Morning America
September 27, 2024
7:01:19 a.m. Eastern [Opening tease]GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Border battle. Vice President Harris set to make her first visit to our southern border since becoming the nominee, as she looks to gain ground on former President Trump on a top issue.
(…)
7:16:07 a.m. Eastern
STEPHANOPOULOS: We’re going to get the latest now on the race for the White House. Kamala Harris set to make her first trip to the border since entering the race. Chief White House correspondent Mary Bruce is on the scene in Arizona. Good morning, Mary.
MARY BRUCE: Good morning, George. Well, immigration has been one of Kamala Harris' greatest vulnerabilities in this race. And today, she's going to tackle the issue head on, making her first visit here to the border since entering the race.
We are told she is going to call for more resources here at the border, outlining more security measures including a plan to try and combat fentanyl struggling and human trafficking, she’ll push for additional resources and border agents; all things that were included in that bipartisan border deal that Donald Trump urged Republicans to block earlier this year. And that's a point Kamala Harris will make here today as well.
Now, polls do show that Donald Trump has had the advantage on this issue, but Harris is hoping trips likes this one will help her to start close the gap.
Trump, for his part, has mocked Harris for even making this visit. He has said she has done the worst job in the history of any border, even though, of course George, we have seen in recent months that encounters here at the border have come down since the Biden administration imposed new asylum restrictions. George.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Yes, they have come down. Okay Mary, thank you very much.
