Biden border crisis goes ‘global’

NEWS AND OPINION:

The Republican Party is keeping a watchful eye on the never-ending security challenges on the southern border, a situation that challenges the U.S. Border Patrol across nine specific areas in six states.

“In the past few months, illegal immigrants from more than 160 countries have been encountered at the border. For context, the United Nations only has 193 members,” says Tommy Pigott, rapid response director for the Republican National Committee.

He is citing data from The New York Times, incidentally.

“And it’s not just the number of countries, it’s the number of people too. The number of illegal immigrants from beyond Mexico and the Northern Triangle has skyrocketed from 9,416 in January to over 50,000 in May according to preliminary estimates,” he writes in the short analysis.

Mr. Pigott titled his work “Biden’s border crisis goes global,” and it was released Wednesday.

He’s uneasy with the outcome of Vice President Kamala Harris’ fact-finding mission this week to several Central American nations, a journey which did not include a stop at the southern U.S. border with Mexico.

“So when Harris claims she is addressing the ‘root causes’ of Biden’s border crisis by avoiding the border, she is not telling the truth. People from around the world, including cartels and terrorist organizations, are exploiting Biden’s policies to enter the United States,” Mr. Pigott says.

“The true ‘root cause’ of this crisis is Biden’s terrible open borders agenda, a failed agenda his administration is only doubling down upon,” he concludes.

AND THEN THERE’S THIS

Cultural commentary has come down to pies.

The British publication The Guardian recently published a food article titled “Food injustice: Let’s start with America’s apple pie,” written by contributor Raj Patel — who questions the origins of apples and sugar in the U.S. and makes the case that they have played a role in creating a negative cultural outcome.

“In the drama of nationalist culture, the bloody and international origins of the apple pie are subject to a collective amnesia. The apple pie is as American as stolen land, wealth and labor,” Mr. Patel wrote in his analysis.

The story garnered considerable reaction.

“Now American apple pie is cancelled. The Guardian links it to the ‘vast and ongoing genocide of indigenous people’, the slave trade and even calls the traditional gingham cloth it sits on cultural appropriation,” the Daily Mail — another British news organization — said in its review of the lengthy story.

Though Mr. Patel — who is an American — wrote his analysis last month, it is still reverberating on Twitter and elsewhere, and was picked up in recent global coverage in The Independent, The New York Post, Sputnik News and other news organizations.

“Social media users have continued to target the piece,” The Guardian said, citing a recent tweet from an unnamed author.

“Apple pie is racist too. These people are nuts,” the tweet read.

“Remember when we used to use the phrase ‘the flag, motherhood, and apple pie’ to signify things about which Americans were unified. It is now ‘an offensive symbol of white supremacy’ and ‘birthing people.’” commented Daily Wire editor emeritus Ben Shapiro in a tweet Tuesday.

THREE VIRGINIA GOVERNORS SPEAK UP

Republican gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin is laser-focused on winning back the commonwealth of Virginia for the GOP, and he has gotten a unique boost in this challenging quest.

Mr. Youngkin — who stands 6-foot 7-inches and is the former CEO of global investment firm The Carlyle Group — has earned a thumbs-up from three former Republican governors of Virginia: Bob McDonnell, George Allen and Jim Gilmore are all rooting for this candidate.

“Glenn Youngkin is the political outsider, problem solver, and new kind of leader that Virginia needs,” the trio said in a joint statement.

“With Glenn’s proven business experience, he will be a breath of fresh air in Richmond and bring real change. He has what it takes to reignite Virginia’s economy, grow opportunity for all and create jobs,” they noted.

“Glenn will lift up every community in our Commonwealth, prioritize public safety, and make sure our schools are focused on achieving excellence and preparing children to succeed. Glenn brings a positive optimistic spirit to the job and will get results by bringing people together across party lines to solve problems,” the three vowed.

FOXIFIED

Fox News has bested the cable news competition for the 16th consecutive week, earning an average of 2 million prime-time viewers last week according to Nielsen Media Research. Nightly hosts Tucker Carlson, and Laura Ingraham led the field with 2.7 million and 2 million viewers, respectively — while “The Five” — featuring Greg Gutfeld, Juan Williams, Dana Perino and Jesse Watters — weighed in with 2.5 million.

And some very good news for Dan Bongino and Trey Gowdy, who both host newly introduced weekend programs. Both gents led the ratings in their time slots with their shows, which air Saturday and Sunday nights, respectively. “Unfiltered with Dan Bongino” drew 1.8 million viewers, “Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy” hosted 1.3 million.

POLL DU JOUR

• 46% of U.S. adults agree that the coronavirus “spilled from a virology laboratory in Wuhan, China”; 70% of Republicans, 41% of independents and 32% of Democrats agree.

• 49% of men and 44% of women also agree.

• 28% of U.S. adults overall don’t know or have no opinion about where the virus came from; 18% of Republicans, 37% of independents and 28% of Democrats agree.

• 25% of men and 30% of women also agree.

• 26% overall agree that “the coronavirus moved naturally from animals, possibly originating with bats, to humans”; 11% of Republicans, 22% of independents and 40% of Democrats agree.

• 26% of men and 26% of women also agree.

Source: A Morning Consult poll of 2,200 U.S. adults conducted June 4-7.

• Helpful information to jharper@washingtontimes.com.