Fox’s Jennifer Griffin and Lawrence Jones Spar Over Kamala Harris Speech on Border Security: ‘That is a False Comparison!’

Coverage of Vice President Kamala Harris‘ speech at the Munich Security Conference on Friday got heated when Fox & Friends host Lawrence Jones argued with Fox’s chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin over America’s foreign policy priorities.

Fox & Friends was covering Harris’ remarks about the need to fund Ukraine, especially in the wake of news that Russian activist Alexei Navalny had died in a Russian prison, which Harris blamed on Russia and its president Vladimir Putin. But Jones said he “took great umbrage with the view that she says that some people want to be isolationists,” saying that it was a “mischaracterization” of those who wanted to prioritize border security over foreign conflicts.

The hosts then brought on Griffin over the phone, who provided her analysis of Harris’ remarks as well as historical context on the debate over American isolationism:

[F]irst of all, it’s very clear that Vice President Harris said off the bat Russia is responsible for the death of Alexei Navalny. It was not “We’re going to wait and see.” It was not “We need to know more.” So that was a very strong statement from the vice president. It was also notable to me because I’ve covered many Munich conferences, security conferences over the years, and usually the leaders, American leaders are addressing Europeans, addressing allies. This had a domestic message, as Lawrence pointed out, and it was a very strong domestic message. And it talked about how Americans have a choice to make right now about whether to be global leaders, about America’s role in the world. You heard the vice president talk about whether it is in America’s interest to fight for democracy or accept the rise of dictators. That’s the message that she is sending to a domestic audience back here that is debating whether to send aid to Ukraine, whether to stand up to Vladimir Putin or whether to appease Vladimir Putin.

And the backdrop of Munich, which anyone who knows their history is that Munich was the site of the great appeasement ahead of World War II. So it is no coincidence that Munich has chosen to have this very important security conference for for decades now. She was addressing those, as Lawrence mentioned, that she said, and you can quibble with the wording, but there is certainly a mood within the country and on Capitol Hill, a debate among those who choose to isolate. Isolationism is not a new thing for Americans to debate. It goes back to, you remember the Charles Lindbergh days ahead of World War II, before Pearl Harbor. That was the debate in the United States. We have the benefit of having two oceans that separate us from most of our enemies. So she is making a case to a domestic audience here.

When Griffin continued to provide more context, Jones interrupted her:

Griffin: The Biden administration and many members, including Republicans on Capitol Hill, have been making the case for why aid to Ukraine, military aid, weapons to Ukraine are so important in terms of sending a message to Vladimir Putin that he cannot erase land borders, he cannot erase countries, he cannot gobble up a country like Ukraine. He cannot change the rules-based order or the map–

Jones: But Jennifer–

Griffin: Lawrence–

Jones: Respectfully–

Griffin: Lawrence, just a minute–

Jones: She’s phrasing it as a binary choice. And that’s not what many of the members of Congress are saying. They’re saying, “Yes, we will talk about Ukraine. Yes, we’ll talk about Israel. But can we put on the table securing the border first?”

Griffin: Lawrence, there was a Senate bill to secure the border that the House wouldn’t take up. So that is a false comparison in terms of the choice that’s being made.

Jones: That’s not false, because there are people that have been very critical of the bill–

Griffin: There was a Senate bill, Lawrence–

Jones: And say that it would not secure the border.

Griffin: There was a Senate bill negotiated by Senator [James Lankford (R-OK)]. And the House would not take it up. Now they’re trying to revisit and [Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA)], member of the Problem Solvers Caucus, he has put forward a way to bring the border back into it. It’s very strong language from what I saw this morning, but we can’t say that nobody wants to talk about the border in this Ukraine legislation. And that’s what the Senate sent to the House.

Watch the video above via Fox News.