Don’t buy into Kamala Harris’ sudden shift on open borders as reality

Vice President Kamala Harris is being criticized for being both a phony and a flip-flopper.

Her recent stance on immigration combines these traits — a phony flip-flop.

The news is buzzing with reports of Harris allegedly flip-flopping on building the border wall.

She mentioned in her convention speech that she would have signed a Senate bill that included spending on the wall, leading some to claim that she now supports the wall.

Build the Wall!

Vote . . . Kamala?

Not quite.

Harris’s campaign seems pleased that media outlets are portraying this as a move toward the center (i.e., a flip-flop) — it’s possible that her team even initiated the coverage.

The wall is popular with a public frustrated by the Biden-Harris administration’s lenient border policies.

A majority of Americans, including independents, support additional border barriers, with over 40% of Hispanics also in agreement, a significant increase from earlier in the Biden-Harris term.

This explains why Harris’s team crafted this narrative and featured images of Trump’s border wall in a recent campaign ad. They want voters concerned about borders but not closely following politics to believe that Harris shares their views.

This is the flip-flop element of Harris’s campaign strategy.

Both Harris and her boss have publicly opposed the wall, with Harris calling it “a stupid use of money” and a “medieval vanity project.”

She has never officially announced a change in stance. Past flip-flops on other issues have been attributed to anonymous aides, but this recent reversal was discreetly communicated through compliant reporters to avoid pushback from Harris’s staunch supporters.

This is the flip-flop.

Regarding the phony aspect, the Senate bill Harris expressed support for did not allocate additional resources for border barriers. It only extended the deadline for using previously approved wall funds that her administration had chosen not to spend.

The failed bill failed unanimously not due to Donald Trump’s influence, but because it was considered poorly drafted. Republican voters would have criticized their representatives for passing it, as the House Republicans had already approved a bill focused on border solutions.

Despite the current Senate makeup, the bill stands little chance of passing next year, as most Republicans have already voted against it and it requires 60 votes to pass.

Could Harris turn this phony flip-flop into a genuine one?

Senator Cotton questions why, if Harris now supports the wall, it is not being built. A large-scale project like this cannot be completed instantly, but Harris could demonstrate her genuine change of heart by admitting past mistakes and reinstating work on the wall.

Do not expect this to happen.

Mark Krikorian is executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies.