Meghan McCain Bashes Migrant ‘Fear-Mongering’ Ahead of Midterms: ‘Irrational’ but ‘Very Effective’
The View held a discussion on President Trump‘s immigration rhetoric Tuesday in light of his recent comments about rolling back birthright citizenship.
The panel focused their discussion on Trump’s legally-questionable proposal for an executive order that would end 14th Amendment birthright citizenship for children born to non-Americans on the country’s soil. Sunny Hostin said that even if Trump can’t override the Supreme Court on this, he seems to wish for America to be as it was during the era of slavery and the Dred Scott decision.
“When he says ‘Make America Great Again’ is this what he is talking about?” Hostin asked. “Are we harkening back to 1857?”
Abby Huntsman moved the discussion ahead by pointing to a trend of foreign nationals traveling to America to give birth to children so they can have dual citizenship. Shortly afterwards, Meghan McCain said Trump’s proposal is a quandary for strict constitutional conservatives who also crave immigration reform.
As McCain lamented how both sides of the political aisle demonize the other on this issue, she eventually brought up “fear-mongering” about immigrants.
“When we talk about DREAMers and things like that, I so wished we would be so further along than this, because using this as a siren song – as you eloquently put Abby – to make voters care about the midterm election, this fear-mongering, it’s very effective. It’s irrational, but it’s effective.”
While McCain did not mention Trump by name, the president’s critics have slammed him in recent days for escalating his anti-immigrant rhetoric and hyping of the Central American migrant caravan. Conservatives have been accused of fear mongering this issue to gin up support ahead of the midterm elections, and the ploy has drawn condemnation ever since it was revealed that the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter was at least partially-motivated by these anti-caravan talking points.
Watch above, via ABC News.
