Nikki Haley’s Support for Texas — and Trump’s Silence — Shows She’d Be Stronger on Border Security

On Wednesday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) declared that the Biden administration had “broken the compact” between the United States and Texas by failing to uphold federal law at the southern border.

“The failure of the Biden Administration to fulfill the duties imposed by Article IV, § 4 has triggered Article I, § 10, Clause 3, which reserves to this State the right of self-defense,” argued Abbott. “For these reasons, I have already declared an invasion under Article I, § 10, Clause 3 to invoke Texas’s constitutional authority to defend and protect itself. That authority is the supreme law of the land and supersedes any federal statutes to the contrary.”

Also on Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) informed his caucus that they were in a “quandary.” While McConnell has been in favor of a bargain under which more resources would be devoted to securing the border and more aid is sent to Ukraine, he read aloud a quote from Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump expressing his opposition to the package.

“We don’t want to do anything to undermine him [Trump],” said McConnell, according to Punchbowl News.

In day since, much of the GOP, including Trump’s lone remaining competitor for the nomination, Nikki Haley, have announced that they stand beside Abbott.

“Governor Abbott is right: the state of Texas has every right to defend itself and its borders. It’s absolutely ridiculous that Joe Biden is trying to stop governors from doing everything they can to protect their citizens,” submitted Haley. “But it’s also nothing new; Biden was part of the administration that sued me when I passed one of the toughest anti-illegal immigration laws in the country as governor of South Carolina.”

Governor Abbott is right: the state of Texas has every right to defend itself and its borders. It’s absolutely ridiculous that Joe Biden is trying to stop governors from doing everything they can to protect their citizens. But it’s also nothing new; Biden was part of the… https://t.co/1hR07HVuww

— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) January 25, 2024

Conspicuously, the prohibitive favorite to represent Republican on the ballot in November has not weighed in on this important development, which pertains to what is supposed to be his signature issue!

Trump has declared that “ALL PRESIDENTS MUST HAVE COMPLETE & TOTAL PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY.”

He fired off an astonishing 37 posts about the woman he’s been found liable for sexually abusing in a 20-minute span on Truth Social.

He’s announced that donors to Haley’s campaign “will be permanently barred from the MAGA camp.”

And he’s even found the time to sabotage a chance to ameliorate the humanitarian and national security crisis at the border.

Yet he’s perhaps the only major figure not to announce his support for Abbott. Why?

Let’s dismiss the fantasy that Trump has some principled legal or philosophical objection to Texas’s action. The obvious answer is that he’s just too wrapped up in the ridiculous mess of a world he’s created for himself to care about the real issues that his voters say they care about.

Indictments and lawsuits and grudges and conspiracy theories all take precedence over the border — and that’s almost certainly the public policy topic he’s most passionate about. He can still compel crowds to chant “Build the Wall!” on the campaign trail today, after eight years, four in the White House, and two with unified government, but when he’s had the chance to actually get it done, he’s lacked the discipline and willpower necessary.

Even if Haley is philosophically or rhetorically softer on immigration, is there any doubt that she’s still more capable of moving the ball in the right direction from the Oval Office?

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.