Vice President Kamala Harris has been criticized for using images of former President Donald Trump’s border wall in her latest campaign ads. These ads have provoked questions about her viewpoint on border security and immigration policies, especially considering her past vocal opposition to Trump’s wall.
CNN’s Erin Burnett OutFront segment aired on Wednesday, September 4, 2024, spotlighted the seeming inconsistency between Harris’ former statements and her present campaign approach. Andrew Kaczynski, CNN’s KFile senior editor, reported on 50 instances where Harris criticized Trump’s border wall, making her current use of the wall image in campaign materials especially striking.
In her 2019 book, “The Truths We Hold,” Harris strongly criticized the border wall. She argued that it was not only pointless but also stood as a monument opposing the basic values upon which the United States was founded. According to Harris, the wall sends a symbolic message to the world to “KEEP OUT.”
At a public event in 2019, Harris labeled the border wall as a “vanity project” and accused Trump of creating a fake national crisis with his “big distraction.” She consistently depicted the wall as a waste of taxpayer funds and an ineffective solution to border security issues.
Contrarily, Harris’ recent campaign advertisement displays a portion of the very wall she once criticized. Kaczynski emphasized that the segment of the wall featured in the advertisement was actually erected during Trump’s tenure.
It appears that Harris’ shift signifies a broader change in her approach to immigration policy. As vice president, Harris has leaned towards a more centrist position on border security issues. This includes advocating for enhanced border security measures and policies that make the asylum process more challenging for migrants, which starkly contrasts her earlier pledges to “honor the process” of asylum and protect vulnerable migrants.
The Biden administration has continued some border wall construction and implemented policies that limit asylum. Harris has not yet publicly addressed these actions, which seem to contradict her past positions.
The apparent change in Harris’ position has caught the attention of political adversaries. The Trump campaign has capitalized on this issue, with former senior advisor Jason Miller describing Harris’ shift in position as “total bulls—.”
It’s crucial to note, however, that Harris has not directly stated a shift in her stance on the border wall. The controversy primarily arises from the visual choices of her campaign and her support for a bipartisan border security bill, which proposed the use of some funds previously allocated for the border wall during the Trump administration.
This bill, which eventually failed in the Senate, was a compromise that proposed various border security measures beyond wall funding. It also included provisions for increasing the number of asylum lawyers and judges, and the power to close the border if migrant crossings surpassed a certain limit.
The Harris campaign has portrayed her as a “border state prosecutor” and emphasized her support for expanding the number of Border Patrol agents. This reshaping of Harris’ image on border issues reflects the evolving political climate on immigration, with Trump’s policies significantly influencing the national discussion.
As the 2024 election looms, Harris’ use of border wall imagery in her campaign ads seems to be an effort to bolster her image on border security issues. However, this strategy has exposed her to criticism from both political spectrums.
