As per reports, the four Americans were caught in a crossfire between rival gangs, and two were injured or dead when Mexican drug cartel members abducted them. The White House has referred to the crime as "unacceptable."
During Tuesday's press briefing, Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy confronted Jean-Pierre about the situation, asking why President Biden was comfortable with the cartels operating so close to the U.S., especially when they were now killing Americans on both sides of the border.
March 08, 2023
Jean-Pierre defended the President's stance by claiming that Fentanyl is at "historic lows-historic levels" under Biden's presidency. "Because of the work that this President has done, because of what we’ve done specifically on Fentanyl at the border, it’s at historic lows — historic levels that we have been able to record a number of personnel working to secure the border because of what we’ve been able to do, seizing that Fentanyl," Jean-Pierre said. "We’ve done it in a historic way. That’s because of what this President has done."
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However, Doocy quickly pointed out that Americans were being killed at the border and questioned whether Biden would have taken the same approach if al-Qaeda or ISIS were operating across the border from an American city.
Jean-Pierre responded by stating that Biden takes the problem "seriously," and said that the FBI and other agencies have been on top of this from day one. She also dodged a question about whether the military should be involved in tackling the heavily-armed cartels.
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Many critics slammed Jean-Pierre's comments. NewsBusters Managing Editor Curtis Houck called her performance "yikes." At the same time, Fox News national correspondent Bill Melugin noted that Fentanyl seizures and overdoses had hit record highs, contrary to Jean-Pierre's claims. Heritage Foundation senior advisor for communications John Cooper called her words "fantasy land" thinking and criticized her for calling the border wall a useless effort.
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Journalist Dania Alexandrino posted, "I'm trying to figure out which border she's referring to…"
Senior advisor for communications at the Heritage Foundation, John Cooper called Jean-Pierre’s words "fantasy land" and, "Karine Jean-Pierre claims that record Fentanyl seizures at the border mean the Fentanyl crisis is actually more under control."
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"These people are just completely out of touch with reality," he wrote. "They've obviously never talked to Border Patrol agents, who will tell you the wall is a necessary part of the toolkit."
The GOP rapid response director also criticized Jean-Pierre and the Biden administration for claiming success amid the devastation caused by the cartels, especially in light of the record number of Americans being killed by Fentanyl.
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