CNN’s Jake Tapper Fact-Checks Lindsey Graham on Immigration Claims.
During a live broadcast on Sunday, CNN’s Jake Tapper fact-checked Senator Lindsey Graham as he criticized Vice President Kamala Harris for her immigration policies. Graham labeled Harris’s approach as “crazy liberal,” despite her support for a border security compromise that received backing from some of Graham’s allies in the Senate.
The exchange began when Tapper asked Graham about Donald Trump’s remarks, which described Harris as “mentally impaired,” prompting Graham to shift the focus to the vice president’s policy positions. This tactic is one Graham has frequently urged Trump to adopt, although with limited success.
“I think she’s crazy liberal. Her policies are destroying the country. Four hundred thousand people have been released in our country, including 16,000 convicted rapists, 13,000 convicted murderers, and 400,000 other criminals released under her watch,” Graham claimed.
In response, Tapper noted that CNN had previously fact-checked Graham’s assertions and found them misleading. He clarified that the figures he mentioned referred to individuals released over several years, including during the Trump administration, and not just those released under the Biden-Harris administration. “That statistic covers decades… and some of these individuals are in federal prisons, not ICE facilities,” Tapper explained.
Graham retorted, “I can tell you this: the man who killed Laken Riley in Georgia was released by the Biden-Harris administration.”
This exchange occurs amidst a heated national debate on immigration. Public sentiment has shifted toward supporting stricter border security, particularly following the widespread sharing of images and videos depicting large groups of migrants crossing the southern border illegally.
In recent weeks, the discussion has escalated into aggressive rhetoric from Trump and his Republican supporters, particularly targeting Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, and other areas. These migrants entered the U.S. legally and were granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) by the Biden administration in 2021 due to escalating violence and unrest in Haiti.
Trump further emphasized these attacks during a presidential debate in Philadelphia, claiming that “they’re eating the dogs!” His comments have fueled a hate campaign against Springfield’s residents, which local officials report has resulted in multiple bomb threats and incidents of racist harassment against the community.
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