Former Democratic Sen. Doug Jones says border is ‘not going to be defining issue’ of 2024 race
'There are too many other issues, the economy – and I think character and integrity,' Jones said on Wednesday
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former Democratic senator from Alabama, Doug Jones, said he doesn’t believe that the border is going to be the main issue of the 2024 presidential race.
Appearing on "CNN This Morning" on Wednesday, the former lawmaker argued that issues like the economy and the character difference between the Democratic and Republican nominees are going to be more prominent issues than the U.S. southern border, even though illegal immigration has reached record highs under the Biden-Harris administration.
"Frankly, I think ultimately, it is not going to be the defining issue of this campaign," Jones declared.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former Democratic U.S. senator Doug Jones declared that border security will not be the defining issue of the 2024 presidential election. (Screenshot/CNN)
Jones made his statement in response to new, dueling ads from the Trump and Harris campaigns on the topic of immigration.
Former President Trump’s ad accused the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee of failing to secure the southern border during the Biden administration while she was Biden’s "border czar," while Harris’ ad touted her push for more border patrol agents and accused Trump of blocking legislation that would have increased the number of personnel.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jones began by dismissing the Trump campaign’s attempt to make the Biden-Harris border policies the central issue of this campaign, noting it would be less important than other issues.
"There are too many other issues, the economy – and I think character and integrity," he said. "I mean look at the contrast between Kamala and Donald Trump – and JD Vance."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Both the Trump and Harris 2024 campaigns have put out ads attacking each other for their U.S. southern border policies. (Getty Images)
He hammered the Republican vice presidential nominee over his old remarks on "childless cat ladies" in the Democratic Party, stating, "JD Vance is essentially wanting to start another Three-Fifths Compromise for childless couples from the Constitution, where you only count – you know, votes with people – a childless couple are counted less than votes with people with children."
The lawmaker then went after the "border czar" attack line from Trump, denying that Harris ever played that role during the Biden administration.
"What Kamala Harris did and what her role was not as a border czar. What she was trying to do was to try to spur economic development, so there wasn’t that mass influx of people trying to get a better life and escape the poverty and the gangs in Central America," Jones told the network.
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Jones’s claim mirrored that of prominent media outlets, which have denied Harris ever had the role once she became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. However, some of the same outlets called her border czar in 2021 when Biden gave her a specific role in dealing with immigration.