GOP Challenger Joe Walsh Blasts Donald Trump On Immigration: ‘Absolute Incompetence’
Republican Joe Walsh, a former Illinois congressman who recently announced his bid to challenge President Donald Trump in the 2020 Republican primary, has continued to slam the president on his policies.
Dialing in on the issue of immigration, which was a cornerstone of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and an issue that has remained fiery since his inauguration, Walsh told the Washington Examiner that he has the best ideas on how to bring the situation under control.
He also said that Trump has shown “absolute incompetence” on border security and the growing number of undocumented immigrants attempting to cross into the United States.
“Trump’s a one-trick pony about the border. All he talked about was the wall, the wall, the wall, and Mexico’s going to pay for it. There was no nimbleness beyond the wall,” Walsh said.
Walsh, who claimed to be a “border hawk,” took issue with Trump’s approach to the problem, explaining that the president is making it more difficult for others to solve the issue.
“Trump’s taken that whole issue of the border and he’s turned it into a kind of, ugly, bigoted, ‘go back to where you came from’ kind of a thing. So, I’m a conservative, and if there’s one area that I’ve changed on in the past couple of years, and it’s because of Trump, I’ve changed my tone,” Walsh said.
Walsh, who worked as a conservative radio host after losing his congressional seat in 2012, revealed to the Washington Examiner that he has already hired campaign staff and has also consulted with well-known Never Trump Republicans. He declined to reveal how much money he’s raised for his campaign thus far, but did claim that the money was coming in.
NEW: ‘Absolute incompetence': GOP primary challenger @WalshFreedom pounds @realDonaldTrump on immigration https://t.co/I1kVGHeL3P @dcexaminer
— David M. Drucker (@DavidMDrucker) August 31, 2019
While Walsh has admitted that beating Trump, at least at this point, would be a monumental feat, he’s banking on Republicans who might have the courage to publicly come out against the president to drum up support for his movement.
Walsh joins former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld as the only two Republicans gearing up for a primary challenge against a president who currently enjoys high approval ratings from his party, along with a massive campaign war chest backed by the Republican National Committee.
According to Fox News, Weld said last week that he was “thrilled” at the prospect of another Republican challenging Trump, not long after Walsh announced his primary run.
On Sunday, Walsh continued his relentless attacks on the president in a tweet citing a potentially looming recession and accusing Trump of lying every time he speaks. He also claimed that Trump believes he is above the law.
