The Democrats Have Chosen Their Hill

A Short Take

Yesterday, Karoline Leavitt brought in a mother whose daughter was brutally murdered at the hands of a migrant who crossed the border under the Biden administration It was a dare to the press corps to see if they would cover the case of the grieving mother.

Here was her appearance:

It worked. The press was forced to cover her story:

So great, right? Well, not so fast. Here is how David Sanger at the New York Times covered the story — mostly as a publicity stunt or a way to deflect from the Trump admin potentially being held in contempt:

Just hours after a federal judge threatened a contempt-of-court investigation over the Trump administration’s deportation flights, the White House sought to freeze the legal debate by reminding Americans of a heartbreaking case of a mother killed by an unauthorized immigrant.

Sanger goes on with what looks more like an op-ed than a news story:

White House officials called a special briefing on Wednesday in the press room to bring Patty Morin, the mother of Rachel Morin, who was killed while jogging on a trail in Maryland in 2023, to the podium. She recounted in detail how her daughter, a 37-year-old mother of five, was seized, raped and bashed in the head with rocks and ultimately strangled. Members of her family also appeared at the Republican National Convention last July.

An immigrant from El Salvador, Victor Martinez-Hernandez, was convicted in the case this week.

The story was a tragic one, and it has fueled Mr. Trump’s arguments about dangers posed by migrants and a debate about capital punishment. Nonetheless, the invitation of Ms. Morin seemed a somewhat transparent effort to suspend the arguments about whether the administration could lawfully send migrants to El Salvador with no due process, and whether it can defy the orders of district judges who order the flights halted.

And then we get the typical blather, “Statistics show…”:

Statistics show that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes on American soil than American citizens, and Mr. Trump’s claims of a wave of violent crime committed by immigrants have not been supported by police or court data. But it is a popular talking point among Mr. Trump’s base of supporters, and he often brought out family members of victims during his presidential campaign.

If even one woman, one child, one girl is brutally murdered or assaulted by migrants who crossed the border illegally (aka, already broke the law, which makes them criminals already), under the watch of the United States government who did NOTHING to protect them, or even warn them, with the media pretending there is no problem, you bet the public has a right to be upset.

On the Left, they need constant fuel to drive their ideology, their religion. Kilmar Abrego Garcia gives them that. He can be accused of beating his wife, even, and it won’t matter to them, just as whatever George Floyd was guilty of didn’t matter. Just as transgender sex offenders don’t matter. Identity is all.

But it does go against the general public’s opinions, as this poll proves:

Chris Cillizza understands and is begging the Democrats not to make this their biggest story:

Sorry, Chris. This story is here to stay. It fills up the Left with everything they need to keep fighting for what they believe in. They believe in open borders AND universal healthcare. They believe in no biological difference between men and women. They believe in abortion as easy and common as getting your ears pierced. They believe in sending every last dollar to Ukraine. It is what it is.

Maryland’s Senator Chris Van Hollen flew to El Salvador himself to try to talk to Garcia and bring him “home.”

And the inevitable calls to impeach:

The story is covered in more detail in Megyn Kelly’s Morning Update:

Meanwhile, the Go Fund Me donations for Garcia are up to $212K.

I’m working on a longer piece about how there is no such thing as a “normal” Democrat, but I thought I’d get this in under the wire.