Former President Donald Trump's campaign is capitalizing on remarks made by former President Bill Clinton to attack Vice President Kamala Harris on immigration policy.
According to The Hill, Clinton's comments during a Georgia fish fry event in support of Harris have been seized upon by the Trump campaign to criticize the Vice President's stance on border security.
The controversy stems from Clinton's defense of a failed bipartisan Senate border security bill, which he argued would have provided the federal government with more resources to properly vet migrants at the border.
Clinton praised Harris as the only candidate who endorsed a bill that would limit immigration and ensure proper vetting of incoming migrants. He criticized Trump for opposing the bill, which was being drafted by senior Senate Republicans.
The former president's remarks touched on a sensitive case in Georgia involving the death of a young woman allegedly killed by an immigrant. Clinton suggested that with proper vetting, such incidents might be prevented.
Trump's campaign quickly responded to Clinton's comments, issuing an email statement titled "Bill Clinton Blames Kamala Harris For Laken Riley's Death." The Trump campaign email featured a video clip emphasizing Clinton's remarks about the Riley case, where Venezuelan national Jose Ibarra is charged with her murder and will face trial in November.
Angel Ureña, a spokesman for Clinton, refuted the Trump campaign's interpretation, stating that the former president's comments were taken out of context.
Republicans have used the Riley case to argue a link between immigration and crime despite studies showing that immigrants generally commit crimes at lower rates than natural-born citizens. Democrats face a challenging balancing act, striving to support immigration while addressing concerns raised by specific incidents.
In his speech supporting Harris, Clinton criticized Trump's approach to immigration, stating:
Kamala Harris says, 'I don't want you to get upset. If you don't like me, you can vote against me next time. If you do like me, you can vote for me next time. Meanwhile, what do you say we solve some problems? What do you say we get something done?'
Clinton argued that America needs vetted immigrants to maintain population growth and fill workforce needs. He accused Trump of exploiting immigration issues for political gain rather than seeking solutions.
The former president concluded his remarks by calling for a new approach to immigration:
And the cynicism of killing a bill that would do exactly A, what we ought to do, and B, what they say they want to do, just so you can keep people all torn up and upset and run another television ad about somebody who gets killed by somebody who wasn't properly vetted, is unbelievable. This country is too good for that; we gotta put all that behind us and open a new door. A new door to the future.
The Trump campaign is using a portion of Bill Clinton’s speech at a Georgia event to criticize Kamala Harris on immigration. Clinton defended a failed bipartisan Senate border security bill, arguing it would have improved migrant vetting and prevented incidents like the Riley murder.
The Trump campaign’s email highlighted Clinton’s remarks about Riley, framing them as blaming Harris for the case. Clinton’s spokesman responded that Trump’s team took the comments out of context. The issue remains politically sensitive as Democrats balance immigration support with crime concerns.
