Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: Border crisis is an 'absolutely horrendous'
Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., joins 'Jesse Watters Primetime' to discuss growing concerns President Biden poses a national security threat and his game plan for 2024 election.
Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he was "dismayed" to see MSNBC hosts ridiculing Americans concerned about the crisis at the southern border during the network's Tuesday night election coverage.
Liberal anchors Joy Reid, Rachel Maddow and Jen Psaki mocked voters concerned about illegal immigration in a clip that went viral on social media. Reid suggested White, working-class Republicans were voting based on racism.
Kennedy pushed back against their comments while on "Jesse Watters Primetime" on Wednesday. He described the hosts' views as far removed from what he's witnessed at the border.
"Well, you know, it was dismaying to see those hosts on MSNBC, Joy Reid and Rachel Maddow and Jennifer Psaki, ridiculing middle-class Americans who are concerned about what's happening at the border," he began. "What's happening at the border would be unsustainable for and unacceptable to any country in the world we're watching."
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Independent Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reacted to a viral MSNBC clip of liberal hosts mocking voters for caring about the border crisis. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)
"And it's not racist to say that the Mexican drug cartel should not be controlling U.S. border policy," he continued.
Kennedy explained how he's visited the border twice, calling the situation there "absolutely horrendous."
"There's seven million people who've walked across the border and gotten free plane tickets, many of them at any destination they want," he said.
The influx of migrants has put sanctuary cities like New York City in peril, stretching its resources and hurting American citizens, he argued.
In November, Mayor Adams announced budget cuts to its police department and sanitation department to accommodate for the billions the city spent on its migrant crisis. Adams reversed some of these budget cuts in January after blowback from the police union.
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New York Mayor Adams has asked for federal aid to address the spiraling migrant crisis in the city. (Luiz C. Ribeiro/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Kennedy said the migrant crisis has hurt students in the city as well. Students had to give up playing sports due to strict COVID restrictions during the pandemic, yet Randalls Island, which serves New York's public schools, is now allowing illegal immigrant encampments.
The situation has turned into a humanitarian crisis for migrants as well, he argued.
"Immigrants are being preyed upon. It's a humanitarian crisis for them as well. I saw it at the border, they've been exploited, extorted. Many of them have been raped, robbed, brutalized by the cartels before they come across. They come here and they can't legally work. So they're preyed upon by unscrupulous employers who play them, pay them eight, nine, ten, $12 an hour. There's contractors in New York that are hiring them for those, and then they're bidding against union shops for jobs. So it's hurting everybody," he continued. "It's damaging our country."
"It's crushing the overall fabric of our society," Watters agreed.
House Republicans have urged President Biden to address the border crisis during Thursday's State of the Union address, as U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has reported an increase in migrants crossing into Arizona and California in recent months.
CBP sources told Fox News this week that migrant encounters have surpassed 21,000 over three days.
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