Donald Trump thanked Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick for defying the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to temporarily bar the use of razor wire at the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump spent a large portion of his speech at the “Nevada Commit to Caucus Rally” in Las Vegas discussing the southern border. The court sided with the Biden administration in a 5-4 ruling, allowing U.S. Border Patrol agents to temporarily remove the razor wire that Texas officials put up under Abbott’s orders while litigation over the issue proceeds.
Trump called the southern border a “weapon of mass destruction” and said, if reelected, he would “send reinforcements” to Texas where the state would receive his “full support.” He also claimed that he didn’t have to spotlight the border when he ran against Joe Biden in 2020 because “we had the safest border in U.S. history.”
As the United States faces a surge in illegal border crossings, Abbott has tried to fend migrants off by using razor wire along parts of the southern border and a circular saw floating barrier in the Rio Grande river. The Biden administration has called these tactics “dangerous” and “cruel,” and says the wire prevents agents from gaining access to key parts of the border. Some Texas Democrats, including former Representative Beto O’Rourke and Representative Joaquin Castro, have urged Biden to federalize the National Guard if Abbott defies the Court’s order.
Trump’s statements come as Biden continues to press Congress to embrace a bipartisan Senate deal to pair border enforcement measures, along with aid to Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia. While experts may disagree with Abbott’s approach, they agree that solving the issue at the southern border will require complex solutions.
