Kelly hits Trump, GOP on border: ‘They don’t actually wanna solve this problem’

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) went after former President Trump and other Republicans on the topic of the border Wednesday, stating “they don’t actually wanna solve this problem, they just wanna talk about it.”

Kelly, a potential vice presidential pick for likely Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, criticized Republicans for submarining an emerging border deal earlier this year.

“Our goal here was to get this legislation passed, and then start working on comprehensive immigration reform, but this was stopped dead in its tracks by Donald Trump, because he wanted to have this as an election issue,” Kelly said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” of a bipartisan border bill that was shot down twice by the Senate following pressure from Trump against it.

“Like a lot of other Republicans, they don’t wanna actually solve this problem, they just wanna talk about it,” Kelly added. 

“Where this is a complicated issue, one thing is pretty basic,” Kelly said. “And that’s that we had an agreement. We had the votes. And then Donald Trump wakes up one morning, and sees that he does not want this problem solved. So, he told Senate Republicans that they were not allowed to vote for it.”

Trump had called the bipartisan border bill a “Death Wish” for Republicans in February, shortly following its release.

“Only a fool, or a Radical Left Democrat, would vote for this horrendous Border Bill, which only gives Shutdown Authority after 5000 Encounters a day, when we already have the right to CLOSE THE BORDER NOW, which must be done,” Trump said on Truth Social.

“This Bill is a great gift to the Democrats, and a Death Wish for The Republican Party. It takes the HORRIBLE JOB the Democrats have done on Immigration and the Border, absolves them, and puts it all squarely on the shoulders of Republicans,” Trump continued. “Don’t be STUPID!!! We need a separate Border and Immigration bill. It should not be tied to foreign aid in any way, shape or form!”

The Hill has reached out to the Republican National Committee, the Trump campaign and the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Besides Kelly, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) are seen as top contenders to be the running mate for Vice President Harris.

In a statement provided by a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee, Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “Senate Democrats like Mark Kelly refused to take up Republicans’ Secure the Border Act that passed in 2023.”

“Kamala Harris was named the Border Czar by [President] Joe Biden,” she continued, “and has been an epic failure at her job, directly overseeing the worst illegal immigration invasion crisis in history.”