Texas Governor Greg Abbott has flatly rejected his position as Donald Trump’s 2024 running mate and wants to remain in his state to deal with the border crisis.
The governor warned that the US is in “imminent danger” due to an “invasion” of “known and unknown terrorists crossing the border every day.”
He said the best way he could help Trump was “by being a great governor of Texas.”
The presidential candidate had previously touted Abbott as a possibility for his vice president, saying he was “absolutely” on his shortlist.
But Abbott flatly rejected any suggestion he would join an interview with 60 Minutes, saying “no” when asked if he wanted to run on the Republican ticket with the former president.
Abbott also defended the use of the word “invasion” to describe the thousands of migrants streaming across the southern border into Texas at a record pace every day.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has rejected being Trump’s running mate and wants to stay in his state to deal with the border crisis
Trump said Abbott was ‘absolutely’ still on shortlist for VP candidates after visit with governor to Eagle Pass
Abbott warned the US is in ‘imminent danger’ from an ‘invasion’ by ‘known and unknown terrorists’
The governor said the term was appropriate “because of what the drug cartels do every day.” Because of the known and unknown terrorists who cross the border every day.’
‘There is no language that could incite violence. But I want to be clear about this: we do not want any form of violence,” he said.
Record numbers of migrants and asylum seekers have entered the country in recent months.
Experts predict the backlog of asylum seekers and other migrants in the U.S. will reach eight million by the end of September.
The figure is an increase of 167 percent in five years, according to figures obtained by Axios.
Abbott reiterated his belief that Biden has lost control of the situation and suggested the only resolution would come in November if a new president is elected.
“It ends very simply: that is with a president of the United States who will actually fulfill his oath of office to enforce the laws of the United States of America, which means denying illegal entry into the country,” he said.
There were more than 300,000 encounters in the last month of 2023, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol sources told Fox News.
Record numbers of migrants and asylum seekers have entered the country in recent months
Experts predict the backlog of asylum seekers and other migrants in the U.S. will reach eight million by the end of September
Between December 1 and 31, more than 302,000 migrants were documented attempting to cross the southern U.S. border.
It was the highest single-month total ever recorded in history and marks the first time encounters with migrants have exceeded 300,000.
More than 300 individuals on the terrorist watch list have crossed the southwest border between ports of entry since the start of fiscal year 2021, according to Mark Green, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.
He added that there is “no way of knowing how many more there were among the 1.8 million known escapes.”
Immigration has become a flashpoint of the upcoming election, with both Biden and Trump making competing visits to the border on the same day.
A Gallup poll found that 28 percent of Americans now believe immigration is the biggest problem facing America, beyond just mentioning the economy or inflation.
This figure was an all-time high since Gallup began surveying voters about their views on immigration in 1981.
On Thursday, Abbott used Trump’s visit to Eagle Pass to criticize Biden for endangering America by ‘not doing his job’ at the border.
Abbott said he could best help Trump ‘by being a great governor of Texas’
Abbott reiterated his belief that Biden has lost control of the situation and suggested the only resolution would come in November if a new president is elected.
More than 302,000 migrants were documented attempting to cross the U.S. southern border between December 1 and December 31
He also guided Trump along the edge of the Rio Grande and showed him what Texas is doing to prevent the crossing of illegal immigrants.
The Republican governor showed Trump how shipping containers topped with concertina wire are used as barriers. He also took him to a place where the body of a drowned migrant was brought ashore.
Abbott laid out plans to build an 80-acre base for the Texas National Guard.
He also vowed to continue his policy of busing illegal migrants to Democratic “sanctuary” cities.
It came as Biden visited the border town of Brownsville, Texas, about 320 miles from where Abbot appeared with Trump but still in his state.
The visit was dismissed as a “photo op” by the Border Patrol Union, which dismissed it as “all about politics.”
After his trip to Eagle Pass, Trump stated that Abbott is “absolutely” one of the potential candidates for VP.
Abbott previously laid out plans to build an 80-acre base for the Texas National Guard.
He also vowed to continue his policy of busing illegal migrants to Democratic “sanctuary” cities
Other names on the Republican president’s list of possible vice presidents include Sen. Tim Scott, Ben Carson, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and Rep. Elise Stefanik.
Vivek Ramaswamy, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Rep. Byron Donalds and Trump’s former press secretary and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders are also still under consideration.
Immigration has become entrenched in Biden’s domestic and foreign policy — his push for more money for Ukraine and Israel has been stymied by Republicans’ desire for more border funding.
Biden asked Congress for $61 billion in aid to Ukraine, but Republicans refused to approve the aid without an agreement with Democrats to tighten security along the US-Mexico border.
His request also includes $14 billion for Israel to fight Hamas and $14 billion for U.S. border security.
Biden and his Democrats have made major concessions on border security to try to reach a deal, including raising standards for asylum seekers and expanding the president’s power to quickly remove migrants crossing the border.