Internet reacts after Trump tells Fox that Biden’s border policies are ‘inhumane’

‘Irony is dead’

Donald Trump’s comment on “inhumane” conditions at the US-Mexico border has predictably drawn sharp reactions from the Internet, with users pointing out the irony in his allegations and accusing him of gaslighting his successor Joe Biden.

Mr Trump, during his appearance on Fox News on Thursday, slammed President Biden saying that his border policies are “inhumane.”

“What you are doing and what you are seeing now is inhumane,” said the former president as he responded to Mr Biden’s claim that he left children “starving” on the Mexican side of the border.

“These children and people are, tremendous number of people by the way, and they are living on top of each other. In squalor. It is squalor,” he said.

Mr Trump, lambasted during his presidency for sometimes ignoring coronavirus pandemic-related guidelines, said that immigrants crossing the border are living in a “dangerous situation” as they are not being tested for the virus.

“There is no testing for Covid-19 as we call it sometimes, sometimes we call it something else,” he said. “But there is no testing. There is no nothing and what’s going on is absolutely insane.”

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He further said, “you would see children on top of children and you would see filth” if you could get cameras inside.

But Mr Trump’s attack did not go down well with Twitter users who were quick to point out the irony of the situation.

“Irony is dead,” wrote journalist Aaron Rupar.

“Irony’s not just dead. It’s dead, cremated and its ashes scattered to the four winds,” wrote another user.

“Oh just wait till he blames Biden for 500K+ deaths due to lack of COVID-19 response,” said another.

Another user called it a “master class in gaslighting,” as they pointed out that it was Mr Trump’s “border policy in a nutshell”.

The Biden administration has been under fire for the situation at the US-Mexico border where an increasing number of migrant children seeking asylum are detained.

Since entering the office on 20 January, Mr Biden has signed several executive orders that erased immigration policies that were enacted by his predecessor.

Migrants and asylum seekers awl after a demonstration at the San Ysidro crossing port asking US authorities to allow them to start their migration process in Tijuana, Baja California state, Mexico on 23 March 2021. (AFP via Getty Images)

These include providing deportation relief to unauthorised migrants who come into the country as children. One of Mr Biden’s immigration plans also includes enacting legislation that would create an eight-year path to citizenship for the nation’s estimated 10.5 million unauthorised immigrants.

Critics have, however, claimed that the new stance of the Biden administration on immigration could be influencing the current influx of migrants at the border and has been dubbed as a “humanitarian crisis” by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Earlier on Thursday, President Biden justified his administration’s response to the current rise in migrants crossing the US-Mexico border, saying that no previous administration except that of Mr Trump let the children arriving at the border “starve to death.”

The White House maintained that the border is closed, and officials said that they are letting migrant children in, rather than turning away because it would be too dangerous for them to journey back home on their own.

Mr Trump, during his tenure, took a much harsher stance as he worked largely to restrict those who would be able to come to the US and seek citizenship.

His administration was accused of separating families at the border – a decision that was later changed following significant backlash.