White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated with conviction that Joe Biden was at one of the border crossings to see first-hand the ongoing situation with immigrants crossing. However, there is no record in any official records of any visit by the president.
During a press conference Wednesday, Fox News reporter Peter Doocy asked Jean-Pierre about Biden's visits to the border and the White House media liaison responded while laughing:
- We know that the president has never been to the border. The prospective next speaker says he wants [Biden] to join him. So, will you do it?
- [Riéndose] Biden has been there. He has been at the border.
Karine Jean-Pierre says Biden has "been to the border."
THIS IS A LIE. Biden has never visited the southern border. pic.twitter.com/OCJRukCW9a
- RNC Research (@RNCResearch) November 30, 2022
Doocy insisted and Jean-Pierre tried to deflect attention by blaming the Republican Party for its alleged unwillingness to work hand in hand with the Administration to solve the immigration crisis:
- When did you go to the border?
- [GOP] They are playing political tricks. That's what they want to do. This is how they want to deal with the situation.
Rally in El Paso
The closest Joe Biden ever came to the border was 14 years ago - when he was not yet vice president of the Obama Administration - during a rally in El Paso in the middle of the 2008 election campaign. But his stay in the Texan city was limited to a simple speech, and he did not go to the border crossing to learn about the immigration situation.
Former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, also said last year that Biden was at the border at the time, but did not need to visit the border again to be aware of the immigration crisis:
there’s been reporting that he did drive through the border when he was on the campaign trail in 2008. But what the most important thing everyone should know and understand is that the President has worked on these issues throughout his entire career and is well versed in every aspect of our immigration system, including the border. He does not need a visit to the border to know what a mess was left by the last administration. That’s his view.
