Texas Gov. Abbott torches Biden on border crisis, fentanyl surge: 'He does not care'
Governor rips president's border lapses in exclusive interview on 'Mornings with Maria'
Gov. Abbott: Biden 'does not care' about fentanyl at border
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says he's never heard from President Biden regarding the border crisis.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sounded off on the worsening crisis at the southern border in an exclusive interview on "Mornings with Maria" Friday, claiming President Biden is ignoring the problem.
"The American public needs to know," Abbott told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo. "President Biden does not care."
According to Abbott, Texas saw a record 2 million migrants cross the border in 2021, and apprehended enough fentanyl to kill "every man, woman and child in Texas, California, New York, Illinois and Florida combined."
"It's just astonishing that we have a president who is failing to step up and do anything about it," Abbott said. "The president has to stop sitting in his bedroom and get out and do something about this."
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Texas has primarily depended on state resources to secure the border. Recently, the governor resumed construction of the border wall and deployed an additional 10,000 National Guard troops and Department of Public Safety officers along the Mexico border.
Showing support for Border Patrol agents who challenged Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas during a tense meeting, Abbott noted agents have been left in a "deplorable" condition.
"Members of the Border Patrol, they turned their back on Secretary Mayorkas, but also they were complaining about the way the president has not supported the Border Patrol, not giving them the resources or manpower they need to do their job," Abbott explained.
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Gov. Abbott further scolded Biden for sending aid to protect international borders and not prioritizing homeland security.
"Americans are angry that the president is deploying people, risking their lives and spending millions, if not billions, of American taxpayer dollars to secure the borders of other countries that probably will never have any effect in Texas or the United States of America," Abbott said.
"But the president will not deploy the resources needed to secure our own border here in the United States," he continued.
Asylum-seeking migrants from Haiti cross the Rio Bravo river to turn themselves in to U.S Border Patrol agents to request asylum in El Paso, Texas, U.S., as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico January 03, 2022. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez/File Photo (Reuters / Reuters Photos)
Abbott warned more dangerous situations can arise, like the synagogue hostage situation in Colleyville.
"This was a terrorist. How did the federal government allow a terrorist to come into the United States of America from another country?" Abbott asked. "As we sit here right now, neither you nor I have any idea how many other terrorists have gotten into this country because of lapses by the Biden administration."
While Abbott works on state legislation to address migrant numbers and drug trafficking, as of Friday, the governor says he’s yet to receive a call from Biden to discuss the border crisis.
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"There is lawlessness in the United States of America right now, and it starts at the top position in the country," Abbott said.
"It needs to stop. And Biden needs to be held accountable for the lawlessness he himself is causing."