Biden Scoffs at Republicans 'Afraid' of Donald Trump's Border Threats

President Joe Biden scoffed at Republicans on Tuesday, saying they are "afraid" of Donald Trump over his opposition to the bipartisan border security bill.

"If the bill fails, I want to be absolutely clear about something: the American people are gonna know why it failed," Biden said. "Trump and the MAGA Republicans said no because they're afraid of Donald Trump."

During his speech on Tuesday, Biden also claimed that Trump has been actively reaching out to "Republicans in the House and the Senate and threaten them and try to intimidate them to vote against this proposal."

Newsweek reached out to Trump's spokesperson via email for comment.

The context:

Over the weekend, Trump responded to the bipartisan border security bill that was released by a group of senators.

The bipartisan border security bill increases the number of border patrol agents, enhances the asylum system for migrants and allows the president to use executive authority to shut the border down.

"Only a fool, or a Radical Left Democrat, would vote for this horrendous Border Bill, which only gives Shutdown Authority after 5000 Encounters a day, when we already have the right to CLOSE THE BORDER NOW, which must be done. This Bill is a great gift to the Democrats, and a Death Wish for The Republican Party," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The post continued: "It takes the HORRIBLE JOB the Democrats have done on Immigration and the Border, absolves them, and puts it all squarely on the shoulders of Republicans. Don't be STUPID!!! We need a separate Border and Immigration Bill. It should not be tied to foreign aid in any way, shape, or form! The Democrats broke Immigration and the Border. They should fix it. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!"

Senator James Lankford wrote on social media: "The emergency authority is not designed to let 5,000 people in, it is designed to close the border and turn 5,000 people around. The Border Emergency Authority only lasts 3 yrs to force this Admin to shut down the border & to give time for the next POTUS to hire more agents & more officers. After three years, the emergency authority expires because we should have regained full control of our border by then."

What we know:

The border bill has continued to receive an array of mixed responses among lawmakers, with numerous Republicans speaking out against it.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said that the bill "is dead on arrival in the House."

"We will not pass immigration legislation that further incentivizes illegal immigration, does not reform asylum and parole in a meaningful way, and empowers President Biden and his cabinet, the architects of this catastrophe," Johnson wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Views:

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer made comments similar to Biden on MSNBC's Morning Joe on Monday where he said, "This is hard. And our Republican senators, we need a bunch of them, are under a lot of pressure from right-wing Trump part of the party."

Schumer added that he is "hopeful" the bill will pass in the Senate.

What's next:

Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican, said this week that GOP senators are likely to propose amendments to the border security bill.

However, the bill is unlikely to pass through the House given Johnson's remarks.

Responding to Biden's speech on Tuesday, Republican Representative Lauren Boebert said on X: "Biden just gave a speech where he blamed Donald Trump for his border crisis and called for mass amnesty. November 2024 cannot come soon enough. This madness and the invasion have to end."

Update 2/6/24, 1:58 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information and to reflect that Newsweek reached out to Trump's spokesperson for comment.

Update 2/6/24, 2:46 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.