President John Pudner took a short trip up to Detroit, Michigan, the birthplace of the auto industry and the center of recent divides among Democrats, to discuss these divides, what seems to be developing as another internal civil war within the Democratic Party, and how this bodes for the 2024 election as this all occurs amidst President Biden and Trump’s concurring visits to the southern border, both attempting to capitalize off of the border crisis for their candidacies. Turmoil within the Democratic Party isn’t anything new, with recent internal battles in 2008, with the nomination of Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton, alienating women and establishment-favoring voters, and 2016, with the rigging of the DNC and nomination of Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders, alienating young and progressive voters.
What makes this round notable is not only where and on what these divides are taking place, but more specifically, when and against whom this occurs. Not since 1979, when Ted Kennedy took on President Jimmy Carter, has there been such an inter-party divide for an incumbent Democratic president, but even more notable is the lack of a notable rival candidate in this instance. The more publicized of the two is on the Biden Administration’s response to the Israel-Hamas War, with a recent Pew Research poll showing that, while 35% of traditional Democrats sympathize with Israel and 17% Palestine in the conflict, the numbers reverse for progressive Democrats, with 35% sympathizing with Palestine and 19% Israel. These results were backed up in the recent Michigan primary, where over 100,000 voters voted “uncommitted” as part of an organized protest by Congressional Progressives and grassroots organizers against the Biden Administration’s response to the war, earning two delegate votes as a result and, with several Super Tuesday states seeing similar results, casting a long and weary shadow over Biden’s chances in November.
The less publicized, but even more poignant, divide can be found on how best to respond to the border crisis, with top Congressional Democrats spending the last six months quelling rebellion within its own ranks since, Democrats in strongholds New York, Boston and Chicago expressing frustration to New York Times reporters, and Democratic candidates across our Republic facing the difficult task of reassuring voters concerned about chaos at the border without alienating voters who strongly favor migrant citizenship and welfare. These divides exist even among California Democrats according to a recent Los Angeles Times poll, which found 54% of progressives saying the border is secure, while registered Democrats were nearly split down the middle three ways on if illegal migrants burden the country, with 21% saying they are a major burden, 41% a minor burden, and 32% not a burden. These results were notable enough that G. Cristina Mora, co-director of the Institute of Governmental Studies, said, “The findings show that immigration is not clear-cut even in California, whose reputation as a sanctuary state often colors discussion on the issue."
President John Pudner and host Guy Gordon analyze the Biden-Trump visits to the border, these divides within the Democrat Party, and, as aptly put by G. Cristina Mora, how, "This issue is one that could play to the Republicans’ favor.”
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
Biden, Trump, border, issue, Democrats, divided, picking, fentanyl, crisis, Israel
SPEAKERS
Guy Gordon and TBOR Action President John Pudner
Guy Gordon 00:00
Let's bring in John Pudner, president of Take Back Our Republic, to talk about this. John. Good to have you, appreciate your time.
John Pudner 00:06
Oh, thanks for having me on again.
Guy Gordon 00:07
Let's get into it. So, what's happening today, and your assessment of Joe Biden and Donald Trump, on the same day, visiting the border? What's behind this, do you think?
John Pudner 00:15
I think Biden has been mugged by the reality of the immigration issue. They thought they could put this of, but the issue is so high, you see it in polling, as you mentioned, top issue, inflation is the other top issue, but we've knocked on tens of thousands of doors in the past month, and it is brought up, top of mind, more than every other issue combined. Everyone has it connected to something now, that Georgia Student that was killed by the illegal immigrant, the fentanyl, they've made connections, so it really is top of mind for people at the door, and they just can't ignore it politically anymore.
Guy Gordon 00:52
Why do you think Joe Biden is picking Brownsville and Donald Trump is picking Eagle Pass?
John Pudner 00:57
Well, I actually had two Texas interviews earlier, and they both joked about just how calm Brownsville is, so there isn't much chance of any unwanted visuals on Biden's part. They picked the spot where they feel pretty safe, where wandering cameras aren't going to pick up on illegals coming over like it will in other parts of the border.
Guy Gordon 01:18
Considering the low approval rating of Joe Biden's handling of the border, what do you think that indicates about the public sentiment towards Joe Biden's immigration policies as a whole over the past three years, as compared to, maybe, the sudden prioritization with the past month?
John Pudner 01:34
It's been in the twenties for quite a while for those thinking he's handling the border, well below 30%. What they're trying to do now is blame Congress, which is always easy, there's always gridlock, but Nate Silver, no conservative at all, a year ago warned that, when Biden rescinded Title 42, meaning again, it can no longer just extradite these illegals right out of the country, that was going to be very politically damaging. Anyone who crunches numbers, liberal or conservative, knows that, and it just took them for a while. This is kind of a Hail Mary pass to get back in the immigration discussion, but I think it's cooked in.
Guy Gordon 02:17
These are national security risks. I mean, that's why we have border policies, and when you ignore them, it significantly undermines US national security by allowing an unchecked flow of individuals, who might be dangerous, to come across the border. That became a racist thing to say during the Trump years, but I think more people are coming around as they're coming into our cities and our communities, regardless if they're sanctuary cities or not. We're kind of seeing all this as bearing out to be true, and you're seeing that with Eric Adams in New York, and you're seeing other Democratic senators who live along the border, and have known for a long time, the importance of border security. As you're seeing, when people are faced with the realities of illegal immigration, and what that does to a community, do you think that even more within the Democratic Party are going to prioritize this, and say it isn't racist to say we need stronger borders?
John Pudner 02:18
Absolutely. It's not quite as big a split within the party, but it's kinda like the Israeli-Palestinian break. They can't figure out which way to go on that. They've got the real progressive element that basically wants to justify Hamas, and to a lesser degree, I think this is the issue, too. It's a split internally for them now, and one of those things they're going to have tried to figure out, but it's never good to have an internal civil war going on within your party leading into a presidential election.
Guy Gordon 03:28
I heard Jay Johnson a number of times years ago, and he was on again today on the networks talking about this border issue, in particular, and he said years ago that if if we ever got to a thousand crossings a day, that would be unmanageable, it'd be a crisis. Well, some days we're at twelve thousand. Do you think we're too far gone at this point, or is there hope that - even Jay Johnson, who's a Democrat, by the way, served in the Obama administration - we will get back to a sense where it's safe in our country, regardless of how many people have already come over?
John Pudner 04:23
I think a lot of damage is done, but out of crisis, sometimes that's what it takes for something to happen. For example, people forget that Trump was really ahead of the country on building the wall. I mean, it was a great campaign slogan, but the majority of Americans did not say they wanted a wall built until this last year, where it's now 57% for and only 31% against. That says to me this crisis is in mind, and you made a point about you having been on the border yourself- this used to be a border issue. Now, they're not, they're out in Wisconsin, and Michigan, and everywhere else, because people see fentanyl, they see the crime, and they hear about this Georgia student getting killed. I think the good thing is we could get a wall out of this now, at least that would be a starting point.
Guy Gordon 05:19
That's a starting point, then you got to deal with how do you...I mean, Donald Trump says his priority on day one will be to deport the ones who came across for the past three years under this Administration. That's a tough job to do, but we'll see, if he gets elected, if he can actually do that. Very much appreciate your time and your perspective on this.