Leftists are usually coddled by the media. But not this time.
And a Democrat senator was humiliated on live TV for all to see.
On an episode of CNBC’s Squawk Box, host Joe Kernen grilled Virginia Democrat Senator Mark Warner about the party’s sudden soft spot for illegal immigration. Kernen zeroed in on whether this leniency was just a ploy to rack up more voters, highlighting the stark contrast between past Democratic policies and the chaos under Biden.
The interview comes amid heated debates over ICE raids hat kicked off since Donald Trump started his second term. Critics on the left are wailing about removing illegal immigrants who haven’t broken other laws, but supporters fire back that these actions fulfill Trump’s core campaign vow—and mirror what Democrats once did routinely.
Kernen didn’t hold back, pointing out the numbers that tell the real story. “Now, I know Trump has deported or sent back 350-400,000 people. Barack Obama, ‘your guy,’ as you called Trump, ‘my guy,’ it was 5 million. It was 5 million over eight years,” he said, pressing Warner on the Democrats’ flip-flop.
He kept pushing: “Now we’re at 350,000. What changed with Democrats on that? I know Biden let in 12 million. Is it about votes? Why isn’t it a crime to be here, not that they haven’t committed a crime?” This question cuts to the heart of why many Americans feel betrayed by the establishment.
Warner admitted the obvious truth that everyday folks have known for years. “The border being as open as it was under Biden was one of the reasons Trump got elected,” he conceded, acknowledging how the immigration mess fueled Trump’s landslide victory.
When Kernen asked if Warner was relieved the border is finally shut tight under Trump, the senator didn’t dodge entirely.
“Do I think we ought to not have a fully open border? Absolutely. I’ve said that all along,” Warner replied, but his words ring hollow after years of inaction from his party.
Yet, Warner drew a line on solutions, opposing widespread ICE enforcement. He made a distinction between securing the border and “sending out ICE agents across the country to randomly pick up people based on quotas that have committed no crime,” painting Trump’s approach as overreach.
Kernen wasn’t buying it, reminding everyone of Obama’s record. He asked how the previous Democrat president managed to deport five million over eight years, forcing Warner to admit that many were simply turned away at the border—not deep interior removals.
They agreed Obama’s stats bloated from border rejections, but that only highlights the hypocrisy. If Democrats were tough then, why did they let the floodgates open wide under Biden, allowing millions to pour in unchecked?
Warner tried to pivot, claiming, “The truth is, I don’t think the American people signed up for this,” as if his party wasn’t the one orchestrating the disaster. He pushed for “a path towards legality,” which sounds like code for amnesty to many on the right.
Kernen hammered home the key question: “Senator, at this point, there’s 12 million people that are not supposed to be here. Why did that [happen]? Why was the border open? You said, ‘Oh, it shouldn’t have been, and you kind of punt on it – ”
Warner responded by saying, “It was for decades, under Bush, Obama – ” But Kernen shut that down, noting the scale under Biden was unprecedented.
“Nothing like during the Biden administration, obviously. Why? What was the rationale for that?” Kernen said.
He tied it to the election rout: “I have seen a lot of your comments about ‘people didn’t vote for this.’ I don’t think… Obviously, Democrats didn’t have a good idea what people were voting for, or you wouldn’t have lost the presidency in seven swing states in the Senate and the House.”
“So you don’t know what people are voting for. They were voting for this!” This nails how out of touch elites like Warner truly are.
Warner could only muster a vague look ahead: “And we’ll see what happens in ’26.”
But with Trump’s mandate clear, it’s the Democrats who need to wake up to the American people’s demand for secure borders and real enforcement.
