The Trump win was earth-shattering. The real reason he won will surprise you.
As a Fox News host just noticed something about Donald Trump’s win no one else has.
There have been many legitimate and valid reasons proposed for why Donald Trump was able to win in such a resounding fashion in November. Some have said that the cost of groceries is what really convinced large swaths of independent and centrist Americans to pull the trigger on voting for Donald Trump. Others have suggested it was the mass illegal immigration that caused Americans to lose all trust in Kamala Harris as a potential fit for President of the United States.
Certainly those are both big reasons and they ring true. On the immigration front, there’s an aspect to Donald Trump’s win that many are glossing over. Donald Trump has certainly reshaped the Republican Party’s sentiment on illegal immigration, but he received a ton of help leading up to this election that helped push him over the line.
That help came from leading Republican Governors like Florida’s Ron DeSantis and Texas’s Greg Abbott. Those two individuals helped bring a ton of attention to the issue of illegal immigration with political moves that forced the whole nation to pay attention to the dangers of the Democrats’ open borders policies.
"Haitians land in the Florida Keys, their next stop may very well be Martha's Vineyard." – Ron DeSantis
Ron DeSantis has been shipping Haitians all over the country too. pic.twitter.com/DV1vGKpFDB
— Lucky (@TheMagaHulk) September 9, 2024
Republican Governors’ Strategy of Relocating Illegal Immigrants: A Polarizing but Effective Move
In recent years, the controversial strategy employed by Republican governors to transport illegal immigrants from the southern border to northern states has generated significant discussion. Key political figures like Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, and former Arizona Governor Doug Ducey made headlines in 2022 by sending migrants to destinations such as Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C. This move, intended to highlight the challenges of border immigration, has been met with both praise and criticism, but some prominent voices have credited it as an effective tactic.
On the December 5th episode of Next Question with Katie Couric, Democratic Fox News co-host Jessica Tarlov and veteran journalist Katie Couric engaged in a thoughtful conversation about the political and social implications of this strategy. Tarlov, a political strategist, called DeSantis’ decision to relocate migrants to Martha’s Vineyard “remarkably intelligent.” Her assessment stemmed from her belief that the move drew attention to the immigration issue in a way that had previously been overlooked by both the media and the public.
Tarlov shared her perspective on the broader political climate surrounding immigration, pointing out the tendency among Democrats — especially those in the media — to minimize the crisis at the southern border during the early years of the Biden administration. “On the immigration front, there was a tendency amongst Democrats, and especially Democrats who were discussing the issue, so people who do interviews or are part of the media, to minimize it over the first two and a half years when there were a lot of people coming in here,” Tarlov explained. “And I thought that it was a stunt when they started busing migrants… to Martha’s Vineyard. It was the smartest thing they ever did.”
Katie Couric also acknowledged the impact of the strategy. She recounted a conversation with a friend living in Florida who viewed the relocation of immigrants as a wake-up call to a largely ignored issue. “Well, it’s interesting ’cause I have a friend who lives in Florida, and I said, ‘What did you think of Ron DeSantis and Greg Abbott taking some of these immigrants and moving them to northern states?’ And she said, ‘I thought it was great because nobody really was paying attention before that.’”
Couric expanded on this idea, highlighting the strain that the influx of migrants was placing on social services and communities, particularly those along the U.S.-Mexico border. “I do think that this untold story was the strain on social services and communities, particularly along the border, this huge influx of immigrants was having,” Couric remarked. “And I think the mainstream media, however you define that these days, kind of ignored that story to its peril.”
The issue of immigration has remained a hot-button topic in U.S. politics, and the actions of DeSantis, Abbott, and Ducey have intensified the debate. While some see their strategy as a bold political move to shed light on the border crisis, others view it as a controversial stunt designed to stoke division. Nonetheless, these governors’ actions have forced the nation to confront the realities of the immigration crisis in ways that were previously less visible to many.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden, under growing pressure to address the situation at the border, announced an immigration executive order in June 2023. This came after months of his administration claiming there were limited actions he could take to address the southern border crisis. Under Biden’s leadership, the U.S. has experienced a record level of net migration, as highlighted in a New York Times analysis, which cited the highest level of migration in U.S. history.
In response to the ongoing crisis, Biden has taken a variety of executive actions. According to the Migration Policy Institute, he initiated 296 immigration-related executive actions during his first year in office, nearly 90 of which specifically reversed or began dismantling the immigration policies put in place by the previous administration under Donald Trump. While these efforts reflect the administration’s push to address the complexities of immigration, the debate over the best path forward remains a contentious issue with no clear consensus.
The actions of Republican governors in relocating migrants to northern states, as well as the Biden administration’s attempts to manage the border crisis, underscore the deeply polarized nature of U.S. immigration policy. Whether or not the strategy employed by DeSantis, Abbott, and Ducey will lead to long-term solutions remains to be seen, but it has undeniably added a new layer to the national conversation on immigration, forcing both sides of the political spectrum to grapple with its complexities and consequences.
When Joe Biden and Kamala Harris refused to visit Texas to see the border crisis they created, I took the border to them.
Texas has bused over 119,700 illegal immigrants to sanctuary cities across the country.
We will keep those buses rolling until the border is finally secure. pic.twitter.com/G9yXBsntPd
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) July 18, 2024
Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal.
