During the 2016 campaign, Donald Trump made building a wall on the Mexican border the center of his campaign. For years, America’s lax enforcement of immigration laws has had serious repercussions for the economy and national security. Even worse, the Obama administration spent eight years letting the security of our southern border lapse into decay.
Unsurprisingly, Trump’s promise to build the wall resonated with voters. On the other hand, Democrats accused Trump and his supporters of xenophobia, a strategy that didn’t work when it was time for Americans to cast their ballots. The election left no doubt: Americans were in favor of securing our southern border.Nevertheless, Democrats have continued their fierce opposition to building the wall since Trump took office. At every turn, liberals have sought to undermine the president’s ability to to follow through on his promise. Sadly, their efforts have, so far, proven successful.
One might think that going into the midterms, Democrats would be touting their obstruction of the wall as a major victory. Instead, the DNC released a bizarre statement, slamming the president for not building the wall.From the Daily Wire:
Yes, we are living in an alternate reality.The Democratic Party, which has trumpeted its opposition to Donald Trump’s intentions to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico in every way imaginable, and has undermined efforts to build such a wall for a decade, issued a statement in which they actually derided Trump for his inability to build it:
Hmmm. The DNC is going after Trump for his "empty promises on border wall." pic.twitter.com/mWGaiVkEkO
— Allan Smith (@akarl_smith) August 22, 2017
Of course, the party’s flip-flopping on the wall goes back over a decade:
As far back as 2006, when Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and tons of other Democrats voted for the construction of a double-layered wall on the southern border with Mexico, the Democrats have sought to derail any wall. That year, 64 Democrats in the House approved the construction of a wall; 26 Democrats approved the bill in the Senate, including Obama, Biden, Clinton, and Chuck Schumer. The Department of Homeland Security was supposed to build roughly 700 miles of fencing along the southern border comprised of “at least two layers of reinforced fencing.” President George W. Bush signed the bill into law on October 26, 2006.
Are Democrats suddenly in favor of building the wall? Probably not. But the statement shows the party is still struggling with its message. Predictably, Twitter users were just as confused as the rest of us:
If this is part of the plan to woo back working class voters, I don't think the Democrats are doing it quite right. https://t.co/oKNMeWTwZd
— Gabriel Malor (@gabrielmalor) August 22, 2017
Just texted a Dem campaign source on why Democrats are going after Trump for this and got the response "Wrong number who dis" https://t.co/2r222txTCM
— Tara Golshan (@t_golshan) August 22, 2017
if your strategy requires you to twist yourself into this big of a pretzel, it might be time for a better strategy. https://t.co/m3iMi5TbfD
— mike casca (@cascamike) August 22, 2017
I can't even find the right "deadpan to camera" face for this. https://t.co/FaIKqwqdzC
— Lily Herman (@lkherman) August 22, 2017
what
are
they
doing https://t.co/rCVESLZr19— Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) August 22, 2017
2018 Dem message: the food is terrible, and such small portionshttps://t.co/pnu6Sla38p
— Alex Burns (@alexburnsNYT) August 22, 2017
With the 2018 midterms looming, Democrats have been desperately trying to improve their failed messaging. To date, their attempts have only been met with laughter from conservatives and disgust from liberals. Clearly, things aren’t getting any better.
[Note: This post was written by Michael Lee. Follow him on Twitter @UAMichaelLee]