Joe Manchin Says Biden’s Message About the Border is Being Misinterpreted: ‘Oh, It’s a Crisis’

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said Tuesday that President Joe Biden had been “interpreted” the wrong way about the “crisis” on the United States’ border with Mexico.

“Whatever message was sent — it was sure interpreted the wrong way,” Manchin said in a comment to CNN. “It’s a crisis — oh, it’s a crisis.”

The White House made news on Tuesday for saying Biden would not visit the border, even as Republicans seek to make it an issue. Republican Texas Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn said Tuesday they would be leading a Senate delegation to the border next week, where they will hold a roundtable with local leaders.

Manchin is not the only Democrat to strike a different tone on the issue than the president. Nine-term Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar (D) told Fox News on Friday, “Any president should come down [and] really spend time with border communities. You know, the president sent a delegation and a bunch of folks from the White House, [but] they didn’t talk to anybody, not even members of Congress down here.”

Customs and Border Protection reported stopping more than 100,000 migrants on the border in February alone.