Despite driving to Delaware a total of 59 times and making a pit stop for ice cream eight times since assuming office, President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that he hadn’t visited the border with Mexico because of more pressing issues. While in Arizona, Biden justified his choice to forego visiting the border, telling the media that there are more pressing matters.
Before semiconductor maker TSMC announced to boost investment in the state to $40 billion, Biden made the defense while boarding Marine One to fly to Phoenix. The President said they would invest billions of dollars in a new company.
Biden recounted “horrific scenes” of “children held in cages” and federal officers “pulling youngsters from their mother’s arms” at the southern border of the United States while Donald Trump was President. But even though hundreds of illegal immigrants enter the country every day and Biden has been President for almost two years, he has never gone to the border.
According to Biden, 59 journeys to his home state and eight unique stops for his favorite dessert are ‘more essential things’ than going to the border. Since he took office, Biden’s frequent excursions to Delaware have cost the government more than $11 million. Taxpayer money is needed to cover the costs of using Air Force One or Marine One for the travel and Secret Service protection expenses.
The $11 million receipt for Biden’s travel to Delaware is likely a significant underestimation because it leaves out a lot of additional ancillary expenses. These expenses include the cost of extra helicopters that fly with him, transportation from military airports in addition to an Air Force One flight, and lodging for staff that travels with him. Both the media and Biden adore their ice cream. Since assuming office, Biden has stopped for ice cream at least eight times, and each time it makes national news.
In October, while eating a chocolate chip ice cream, Biden said that the economy is “strong as hell” during a visit to a Baskin-Robbins in Portland, Oregon. The American economy is as robust as hell, so Biden said, so he is less worried about the strength of the dollar and more concerned about the rest of the globe. Ironic, given that inflation was a staggering 8.2%.
According to the White House’s assistant press secretary Abdullah Hasan, Biden’s principal focus is the economy, not the border. He continued by saying that the President made it abundantly apparent that bolstering the American economy and local communities, competing with China, and bringing back lost American jobs abroad are his top priorities.
According to Hasan, the President is also taking steps to fortify the border and establish a just and humanitarian immigration system. He also asserted that by implementing a comprehensive immigration reform proposal, Biden had secured more funding than any of his predecessors to assist the Department of Homeland Security employees.