Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) believes the only way to get Americans on board with funding the war in Ukraine is to seal up the southern border in the U.S., Breitbart reported. Manchin made this suggestion Friday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program.
"Democrats have to come to grips that we have to close that border down," Manchin said. He believes President Joe Biden could go a long way to getting support for his agenda if he used a national emergency to "shut it down tight" as a record number of migrants pour into the U.S.
"We’re going to support Ukraine. I can tell you that there’s overwhelming support within Democrats and Republicans in the Senate, and I know the same feeling’s in the House," Manchin said.
"What happens though, they’re scared to come out against that because they’re seeing some pressure from the top leader, whether it be Trump or whoever that’s thinking, well, that’s not the right thing, we should be taking care of ourselves," he added. "So, let me just say this: The Democrats have to come to grips that we have to close that border down," he said.
"We have got to have border security. And I would implore the President and his administration to call a national emergency on the border," Manchin continued.
"We have a crisis. And this asylum basically should be put on hiatus for six months or so until we can get an immigration policy that works for our country and also gives people the chance to come here the right way to take care of themselves and their family. But you’ve got to recognize that," the West Virginia Democrat said.
"You just can’t say, well, we’re blind to that, and this is everything. But Ukraine is pay me now or pay me later. … It’s the best investment that we can make to get world peace," Manchin asserted.
He believes the administration is trying but failing to solve the border problem. "They’re trying everything. I know [Alejandro] Mayorkas is good people. I know him and I work with him," Manchin said of the Homeland Security Secretary.
"But the administration, the president, has to say enough is enough. And what Trump did, he basically declared a state of emergency," Manchin admitted.
He said Biden should take a similar stance "in a heartbeat and shut it down tight" to regain the trust of the American people. Manchin also flouted the left's taboo by saying Biden should "build the way" at the border.
"There [are] areas we need the wall, and there [are] areas we need technology. But we need more agents down there," Manchin conceded.
The problem is that the current system allows people to stay if they claim asylum and "just put one foot on our soil and you have all these rights," Manchin said. "And people are sick and tired of seeing, they’re getting hotel rooms, they’re getting this, they’re getting that. They’re overrunning their school districts and things of this sort."
Manchin is right to tie U.S. border security to ongoing support for Ukraine. Many people see that billions of dollars are sent overseas to fight a war while the problems at home are ignored.
Democrats routinely allow the U.S. to be flooded with illegal immigrants because it keeps them supplied with a permanent underclass reliant on the government. They don't care that it's destructive for the country or the people they're allowing in as long as it benefits their political aspirations.
