(The Center Square) – Former President Donald Trump responded to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union Address with a speech of his own late Thursday. In his response, Trump focused on the border crisis, laying the blame squarely at the feet of the president.
More than 11 million illegal immigrants have entered the U.S. since Biden took office.
“When I left office, we gave Joe Biden the most secure border in U.S. history,” Trump said in a video posted to TruthSocial. “We gave him Remain in Mexico, very tough to get but I got it,” Trump continued, referring to a policy of his administration that Biden ended that required asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their asylum case was processed.
Now migrants come into the U.S. and often do not return for their processing and are not deported if they do not qualify. Huge swaths of border agents spend their time processing these migrants.
Among other policies, Trump pointed to his “rapid deportation,” work on the border wall and Title 42, a COVID-era policy implemented by Trump to block migrants from entering in the name of preventing the spread of COVID-19.
“We had the safest border in the history of our country,” Trump said. “As soon as he got in, crooked Joe and his radical leftist lunatics deliberately dismantled each and every one of those policies that were so good that gave us this best border.
“What’s happening now is a horror show,” he continued.
The increase in illegal immigration has come alongside a spike in fentanyl smuggling and overdoses in the U.S., as well as high-profile crimes committed by illegal immigrants. One of those crimes took center stage during Biden’s remarks.
During Biden’s remarks concerning the border crisis, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., called out about Laken Riley, a college student who was allegedly murdered by an illegal immigrant in Athens, Georgia.
“Say her name!” Greene yelled, interrupting and derailing Biden’s speech.
“Lincoln Riley,” Biden stopped and replied, misstating her name. “An innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal. But how many thousands of people have been killed by legals?”
That gaffe sparked a wave of criticism from both sides of the aisle.
Trump’s response came after the official Republican response, which was delivered by U.S. Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala.,
Trump also fired off a string of fiery posts on his social media site, TruthSocial, before, during and after Biden’s address.
“Why doesn’t he bring up East Palestine and the other Towns all throughout America that he has left behind, and destroyed with Inflation?” Trump said.
During the State of the Union, Biden attacked Trump about a dozen times without naming him and even called him a threat to Democracy akin to the Civil War.
Those remarks from Biden drew one of Trump’s fiercest responses.
“JOE BIDEN IS A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY!” Trump wrote on TruthSocial. “HE WEAPONIZED GOVERNMENT AGAINST HIS OPPONENT – DIDN’T TALK ABOUT THAT, NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE!”
Trump and Biden are essentially the respective party nominees ahead of the November 2024 election at this point, though not officially, after former Ambassador and Gov. Nikki Haley bowed out of the race earlier this week. Her retreat followed a rout on Super Tuesday, where she won only one of 15 states and was blown out in the other 14.
Near the end of his video response, Trump took a moment to blast Biden over inflation, touting the economic success during his own term.
“We had the greatest economy in the history of the world,” Trump said. “It’s time to tell crooked Joe Biden, ‘you’re fired!’”
