CNN’s new approach to dealing with guests speaking truths the network doesn’t want to accept seems to be to talk over them and then threaten to end the interview.
CNN anchor Brianna Keilar took her inability to face facts about the Biden administration’s gross mishandling of the border crisis to a new level during an interview with Rep. Beth Van Duyne of Texas on Tuesday.
What was meant to be a debate on Van Duyne’s assertion that the House has to pass a border security bill sponsored by Rep. Mario Diaz-Balar of Florida “because this administration has flagrantly ignored the law” became a one-person show, with the host dominating the air time and dictating the flow of discussion.
Part 2 of my interview with Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R – TX): pic.twitter.com/7I4DnKA2eL
— Brianna Keilar (@brikeilarcnn) February 13, 2024
The bill, known as H.R. 2, passed the Republican-led House last year but has stalled in the Senate amid Democratic opposition.
HR2 aims to overhaul the U.S. asylum system while expanding border walls and enforcement measures, according to The Hill.
One of its key provisions would require all employers to use E-Verify to check the legal work status of employees.
The bill would also restrict asylum access by adding application fees, tightening eligibility criteria and mandating detention even for those granted asylum. It calls for resuming border wall construction along the southern border with Mexico while simultaneously cutting funding for services provided to immigrants.
Additionally, H.R. 2 would make it easier to deport unaccompanied minors and allow them to be held longer in adult detention facilities.
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Van Duyne explained that when she was mayor of Irving, Texas, she had a fantastic partnership with Immigration and Customs Enforcement where the city worked with the federal government to remove criminal illegal immigrants in their community.
Keilar responded with a statistic about a 45 percent lower “criminal conviction rate” among illegal immigrants than native-born citizens in Texas.
It is interesting that the CNN host brought up the “conviction rate,” which would naturally be lower among people who have no ties to the local community and can skip town, or simply never show up for hearings.
“When you raise the specter of ‘they create so many crimes, they’re convicted,’ when it comes to violent crimes, property crimes, homicide… you talked in the past about rapes, the numbers just don’t support that,” Keilar said.
When Van Duyne attempted to rebut Keilar’s stats, Keilar rudely talked over the representative, refusing to let her speak.
Van Duyne, however, held the line, pushing back, saying, “It sounds like you’re defending the immigrants that were beating up police officers.”
While Keilar denied defending illegal criminals, she continued peppering the representative with talking points about why catch-and-release is not working without giving Van Duyne a chance to even respond.
Keilar said the reason catch-and-release is not working is because it’s a “judicial backlog” of people coming into the country looking for protection.
“There’s not enough room for everyone so you have them being released,” Keilar said.
She cited the Senate deal on border security that most Republicans have rejected.
“But the law that you said you don’t need, the Senate deal … would have prevented that,” Keilar said.
When the congresswoman attempted to disagree, pointing out that the billwould have allowed 5,000 migrants into the country a day, Keilar refused to accept it, threatening to end the interview.
“If you won’t let me speak, I’m going to cut the interview off,” Keiler said, although it seemed like she was the one monopolizing the air time.
Keilar continued to monologue for almost a minute before she finally allowed her guest to actually speak, at which point, to Van Duyne’s credit, she eviscerated Keilar’s argument.
Van Duyne pointed out that under former President Donald Trump, less than 1,000 illegals were entering the country on any given day.
Now, the number is much higher than 5,000, and the Biden administration is using that elevated figure to argue that the Senate bill would lower the flow.
“They want to codify 5,000 and make that normal,” Van Duyne said.
“Do the math. That’s 2 million people yearly coming through our borders every year,” she said.
Van Duyne made an excellent point, one that even the wordy Keilar could not refute.
Raising the number of migrants to an insane level and then offering up 2 million migrants a year as a “compromise” is smoke and mirrors.
This is a false comparison, similar to a retail store drastically raising the price of an item above the norm and then slightly reducing it and marketing it as a sale.
And to compare even one illegal immigrant crime to those committed by citizens, again, tries to make the argument that Americans should accept some level of homicide, rape, and petty crime from people who were never supposed to be here in the first place.
If your kid steals $100 from your wallet, you punish him. If your neighbor’s kid steals even $10, he won’t be coming back to your house.
It’s that simple.
Keilar ended the conversation still trying to sell the deception that was clearly laid bare by Van Duyne.
“That 5,000 number may be unsatisfactory to you, but it is going to be much higher, and allowed to be much higher because there is nothing to prevent it,” she said.
“There’s laws to prevent it,” Van Duyne retorted.
“No, there’s not,” Keilar responded, sticking to the lie.
A used car salesman would have been more convincing.
