John Kerry, former President Biden’s climate czar, admitted Thursday that President Donald Trump was “right” about the border crisis. During an interview on BBC’s Reflections podcast, Kerry acknowledged that Democrats had failed to protect the border.
“The first thing any president should say is, without a border protected, you don’t have a nation — I believe that,” Kerry said. “If you’re going to define your nation, you have to have a border that means something.”
Kerry, who served as Secretary of State under President Obama and ran for president in 2004, said he wished Biden had spoken more firmly about enforcing immigration laws. “I wish President Biden had been heard more often saying, ‘I’m going to enforce the law,’” he said.
BBC host James Naughtie pointed out that Trump would likely seize on Kerry’s comments. Kerry didn’t dodge. “He was right,” Kerry said. “The problem is we all should have been right. Everybody should have been moving in the same direction.”
Kerry added that he had warned Biden about the Democrats’ failure on immigration. “They just allowed the border to continue to be sieged, under siege,” he said.
Kerry also criticized the party for supporting an immigration bill that Trump and several Republicans opposed. He did not name the bill but indicated it was part of a broader failure in messaging and strategy.
Naughtie shifted the conversation to Biden’s 2024 campaign. Would it have helped if Biden had bowed out earlier? “In retrospect that’s pretty clear, it answers itself,” Kerry said.
Pressed further on whether Biden recognized that, Kerry stayed loyal. “He’s my friend, and he did a hell of a job,” Kerry said. “I don’t think he’s gotten enough credit for what a great president he was.”
Meanwhile, Trump has focused heavily on immigration in his second term. Border apprehensions between June 1 and June 22 totaled just 5,414, with only 986 known “gotaways.” That’s a sharp drop from the nearly 118,000 apprehensions in May 2024 under Biden.