This is the summer of media discontent.
Ever since the debate debacle, which exposed Joe Biden as the shell of a man the press had been shielding from public exposure, journalists have been struggling. Beyond failed attempts to extricate themselves from that culpability quagmire, there was the way they covered the Trump assassination attempt, dealing with the GOP convention, Biden’s COVID disappearance, the turmoil in the Democratic Party, and then the ultimate departure of President Silveralert from the ticket.
This week, as they were eager to elevate Kamala Harris into the political stratosphere, we saw yet another attempt by the news outlets to set their already smoldering reputations on fire anew. The latest has the press attempting to claim that Kamala Harris was never Joseph Biden’s Border Czar, and this is due entirely to the recognition that the immigration crisis is an anchor on her campaign.
With this reality comes an attempt at rewriting not just the past but their publication history. There are dual efforts with this latest lie: Kamala was never given the job of Border Czar, and the claim that she was is a fiction created by Republicans. To dispel the second point first, here is a handy montage, courtesy of Newsbusters, showing the various press outlets that dubbed Harris as the Border Czar:
Now that Joe Biden is out of the race, the media are pretending Kamala Harris was never the border czar.
Even though they had no problem calling her that before Biden dropped out. pic.twitter.com/sOApru6yF8
— MRC NewsBusters (@newsbusters) July 24, 2024
Now, this might dispel placing the blame on those on the right, but there is still some slithering room for the press, in a legal argument fashion. They may have been incorrect in the past, but they will likely say Biden never officially appointed Harris as Border Czar. This is a desperate effort to extract themselves but factors are showing this is a distinction (of a lie) without a difference.
First, you have Harris herself, in March of 2021, accepting the role in an official presser, declaring boldly her new role would be two-pronged; she would be in charge of both the border and outreach with the countries that are feeding the border surge.
“While we are clear that people should not come to the border now, we also understand that we will enforce the law,” Ms. Harris said before a White House meeting with top immigration officials. “We also — because we can chew gum and walk at the same time — must address the root causes that cause people to make the trek.”
More explanatory are not one but two reports from the New York Times that explain the highly significant level of Kamala’s assignment. Now, regarding the official title of “Border Czar,” It is true, Kamala was never officially christened with that title. In fact, there was already a Border Czar, whom Joe Biden appointed to his cabinet–Roberta Jacobson–who previously served as Ambassador to Mexico.
The timeline spells it all out. Kamala Harris’ appointment with border responsibility took place on March 24. Just about two weeks later, Ms. Jacobson announced she intended to step down. (emphasis below added.)
Ms. Jacobson, have argued that the increased flow of migration needs to be addressed at its source: primarily in Central American countries where violence, war, poverty, gangs and natural disasters are forcing people to flee their homes for refuge in the United States. But her role as one of the administration’s top border officials was eclipsed late last month when Mr. Biden announced that Vice President Kamala Harris would lead the government’s diplomatic efforts with that region.
Days later, we were given another report (in the subsection titled: Kamala Harris will visit Mexico and Guatemala ‘as soon as possible.’) concerning these offices, and once again, the Times was rather clear that the duties of the Border Czar were being transferred to Kamala Harris. This was something that Jacobson, the acting Czar, commented on:
Ms. Harris will also soon be taking over work from a departing official with years of experience. Last week, Roberta S. Jacobson, the former ambassador to Mexico chosen as Mr. Biden’s “border czar,” said that she would retire from government. She said she was happy to see Ms. Harris assume the work of stemming migration from Central America.
This lays out the issue. If Kamala Harris was never technically called “Border Czar,” then it was only because her role was considered greater in scope. Otherwise, how does one describe her taking on the work of the previous Czar, and no new appointment followed Ms. Jacobson’s departure from that role?
Roberta Jacobson said at the time her job was only meant to last for 100 days, and she always intended to leave after April of 2021. Joe Biden was aware of this, and as such, he developed this new role for Harris, so she would be – as reported clearly – taking over the tasks and responsibilities of the Border Czar. If she was not christened with that job title, it was because her position superseded the scope of Czar. Hence, that position was not refilled.
This is such lame desperation by the press, and does nothing to dispel her responsibility in what has been nothing short of a fiasco at the southern border. Playing Devil’s advocate – saying Harris only had a diplomatic role in the immigration issue – still leads to the very fact we have been experiencing record amounts of illegal arrivals, criminal invaders, and unaccounted-for numbers of “gotaways” now in our interior, with no hope of being located. Harris is still facing tremendous job failure.
The only ones with a lower job performance than Kamala Harris these days– the members of our national press complex.
