‘The President’s Trying to Spin’: Gov. Stitt Responds to Biden’s SOTU Border Message

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KOKH) — During a press conference on Friday, Gov. Kevin Stitt (R-Okla.) criticized President Biden’s State of the Union border message.

The governor also expressed his frustration with the president’s approach to the border at large—and said he isn’t buying the excuses.

The issue of immigration is top of mind for many voters and politicians alike.

According to Gov. Stitt, “The president’s trying to spin everybody in a circle saying, ‘Well… the court systems are behind, and we just need more judges and need more patrol officers, and we need congress to pass a billion dollar funding bill,’ or $20 billion, or whatever their numbers are now.”

The governor asserted that Biden ignored a coalition of governors who reached out to him with a border plan two years ago.

Gov. Stitt urged the president to return to the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” policy to reign in the current situation.

The February murder of Georgia college student Laken Riley by a Venezuelan national in the country illegally became a flashpoint in the immigration policy debate.

On Thursday, Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.) noted, “I appreciated the fact that [the president] actually said Laken Riley’s name, but really didn’t address the… root issue, and that is making sure that we are keeping this country safe.”

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) asserted on Sunday that Congress can’t just fund foreign conflicts in Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific region while ignoring the homeland.

For any such funding packages, the senator argued, “We have to have [the] border in it. We have to take care of our own border before we move forward on all this.”

According to the Pew Research Center, almost six in ten Americans say immigration should be a top issue for Congress—an increase of 18 points since Biden took office.