The majority of Democrats despise President Trump. They can’t find anything good to say about him.
But this top Democrat just admitted one thing about Donald Trump that has Leftists fuming.
Democrats Face Immigration Policy Reckoning as Kerry Concedes Trump’s Border Stance Had Merit
In surprising moment, former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry admitted to the BBC that “Trump was right” on border policy, adding, “The problem is we [Democrats] should have been right.” Speaking with reporter James Naughtie, Kerry critiqued his party’s failure to address immigration concerns, a misstep he believes contributed to their 2024 election loss.
Kerry, once a towering figure in Democratic politics, stressed the importance of a strong border. “The first thing any president should say — any president, or anybody in public life, is, ‘Without a border protected you don’t have a nation,’” he said.
“I believe that. To define your nation, you have to have a border that means something. And there’s a reason we have passports. There’s a reason we have visas. We have a system, and I wish President Biden had been heard more often saying, ‘Well I’m going to enforce the law.’” His words reflect frustration that Democrats failed to connect with voters who prioritize border security.
The BBC’s Naughtie noted that Kerry’s comments gave Trump a political opening to claim validation for his 2024 border-focused campaign. “Well, he was right,” Kerry shot back, before clarifying, “The problem is we all should have been right. Everybody should have been right, doing the same thing, all moving in the same direction.”
Yet, Kerry quickly shifted blame to Trump, alleging he sabotaged a bipartisan border-security bill. “The Republicans joined with the Democrats in putting a bill together, they were ready to pass the bill, and Donald Trump called them up. Said, ‘Don’t do this. Don’t pass this bill. You’ll help the Democrats.’ He didn’t want a solution,” Kerry claimed.
That bill, however, was a lightning rod for criticism. GOP legislators argued it was crafted to increase and legalize migrant flows.
The policy’s unpopularity emphasized Democratic missteps during Biden’s presidency, which saw roughly 10 million migrants enter the U.S., fueling stagnant wages and skyrocketing housing costs—issues that handed Trump the 2024 election.
Rather than confront these failures, some Democratic leaders are pushing for even greater immigration. On July 6, Neera Tanden, president of the influential Center for American Progress and a former Biden advisor, alongside Debu Ghandi, the center’s senior director of Immigration Policy, proposed a plan to bring millions of Indian workers into the U.S.
Their framework claims to “Secures and controls the border to stop illegal immigration” but emphasizes legal pathways for migrants, including:
- “Expand immigration opportunities for innovators and entrepreneurs to start or run businesses to spur job growth in the United States and for workers in shortage occupations, such as caregiving and primary care medicine.”
- “Make it easier for the United States to retain graduates of U.S. colleges and universities in STEM fields to increase American competitiveness and foster innovation.”
- “Authorize sufficient additional immigrant visas to clear the backlog for [Indian] immigrant workers and Americans’ [chain-migration] family members who qualify for lawful permanent residence and have waited in line for five or more years. Supplement the existing family-and employment-based system with a new, targeted points-based system driven directly by the labor demands of the U.S. economy.”
- “Create a new safe, orderly legal pathway for crime victims similar to the refugee admissions program. Establish a secure, fair, workable pathway for longtime undocumented immigrants who have lived in the United States for more than ten years — more than five years for Dreamers — to obtain lawful permanent residence, followed by eligibility to receive citizenship in the future.”
Critics see this plan as a rehash of President George W. Bush’s “Any Willing Worker” proposal, which favored hiring low-wage global labor over Americans. The Tanden-Ghandi framework aligns with India’s push to place its citizens in U.S. jobs, schools, and political roles, potentially exacerbating wage suppression and stifling innovation.
Kerry’s admission, while unlikely to shift Democratic strategy, signals a rare moment of self-reflection. As the party navigates the fallout from 2024, it faces a critical challenge: balancing humanitarian goals with the economic and security priorities of American voters—a balance it has yet to achieve.
Stay tuned to the Conservative Column.
