Psaki Calls Record Border Crossings “Historic Pattern”; Analyst Says Democrats Heading for “Shellacking” at 40% Approval and 71% Wrong Track

On 3/31/2022, Psaki described record illegal border crossings as “a historic pattern” the administration was “preparing to ramp up for” — framing the largest border surge in American history as routine. A pollster walked through why Democrats were heading for a “shellacking” in the midterms: 40% presidential approval, 71% wrong track, and Republicans leading the generic ballot. An analyst noted that “realistic chance” existed of federal charges against Hunter Biden, which would put the DOJ in “unprecedented political territory.” The OMB director admitted inflation projections in the budget were locked in November and had “absolutely changed since.”

Record Crossings as “Historic Pattern”

Psaki was asked how the administration would handle the expected surge after Title 42 was lifted. Rather than acknowledging a crisis, she framed it as normal. “We have a pattern of migration. And we are preparing to ramp up for a traditional pattern of additional people coming across the border,” Psaki said.

She also blamed Trump. “The previous administration spent four years trying to tear apart a lot of the pieces of our immigration system. We were in many ways building from a place where a lot of these pieces had been torn down,” Psaki said.

When asked if DHS had requested National Guard troops for the border, Psaki said: “As far as I know, that is not currently under consideration."

"Shellacking” Territory

A pollster delivered a devastating midterm forecast using three key numbers.

“Presidential job approval at 40 percent. When you start dipping below 45, you’ve got a problem. You’re going to have midterms in the bad-to-shellacking range,” the pollster said. “George W. Bush was at 39 percent in 2006. We know how that turned out.”

“Wrong track: 71 percent. Third straight poll where direction of the country has been above 70 percent. 65 percent is a bad number. 71 percent — that’s why it’s in the shellacking category,” the pollster continued.

“Generic ballot: Republicans lead 42-44. You’re going to say, oh, that’s competitive. No, no, no. In national polling, if the Democrats are losing, it means they’re going to get walloped,” the pollster said. “Last time in 2010, Republicans had a two-point advantage that translated to 63 seats.”

“In summary: three numbers that all point to dangerous territory for Democrats. Presidential job rating at 40 percent, wrong track over 70 percent, and Republicans leading the generic ballot. Not a good time.”

Hunter Biden: “Realistic Chance” of Charges

A legal analyst offered a significant assessment. “This is a very real, very substantial investigation of potentially serious federal crimes,” the analyst said. “Federal prosecutors in Delaware are doing exactly what you’d expect — talking to witnesses, bringing people into the grand jury, issuing subpoenas.”

“They’re gaining steam and need to make a decision in at least the intermediate future. This case has been going on for four years, and there is a realistic chance this could result in federal charges,” the analyst said. “Then we’d be in unprecedented political territory — the Justice Department prosecuting and trying to imprison the son of the president.”

Inflation Numbers “Absolutely Changed”

A Republican congressman confronted the OMB director on the budget’s inflation assumptions. “CPI is close to 7.9 percent. Producer price index, 10 percent. In your budget, you think it’s going to go down to 2.9 percent? Like that? It’s gone up every month. Every month President Biden’s been in office, inflation has increased. It’s not gone down.”

“You’re absolutely right,” the OMB director conceded. “To get a budget to you, we locked those inflation and interest rate numbers in November. And inflation has absolutely changed since that happened.”

The “Historic Pattern” Framing

Psaki’s characterization of record illegal crossings as “a historic pattern” was itself a messaging strategy — normalizing unprecedented numbers by suggesting they were routine. In reality, the numbers were anything but normal. The first 14 months of the Biden administration had produced as many crossings as all four years of Trump combined. Border Patrol facilities were over capacity. DHS’s own projections showed a million crossings in six weeks if Title 42 was lifted. Calling this a “historic pattern” was like calling a five-alarm fire “seasonal warmth.”

Manchin Opposes “Billionaire’s Tax”

Senator Manchin announced he could not support the administration’s proposed billionaire’s tax on unrealized gains. Psaki said Biden and Manchin “share a belief that the rich should pay their fair share” and would “allow the process of negotiation to work itself out.”

Key Takeaways

Psaki described record illegal border crossings as “a historic pattern” the administration was preparing for, declining to acknowledge it as a crisis.
A pollster said Democrats were heading for a “shellacking”: 40% presidential approval, 71% wrong track, and Republicans leading the generic ballot.
A legal analyst said there was “a realistic chance” Hunter Biden’s federal investigation could result in charges — “unprecedented political territory.”
The OMB director admitted the budget’s inflation projections were locked in November and had “absolutely changed” since then.
Manchin opposed the billionaire’s tax on unrealized gains; Psaki said the negotiation would “work itself out.”

Transcript Highlights

The following is transcribed from the video audio (unverified — AI-generated from audio).

We have a pattern of migration. We are preparing to ramp up for a traditional pattern of additional people.
Presidential job rating 40%, wrong track 71%, Republicans leading the generic ballot. That’s shellacking territory.
There is a realistic chance this could result in federal charges. Then we’d be in unprecedented political territory.
Inflation has absolutely changed since November when we locked those numbers. Every month Biden’s been in office, inflation has increased.
The previous administration spent four years trying to tear apart our immigration system.
Senator Manchin and President Biden share a belief that the rich should pay their fair share.

Full transcript: 1200 words transcribed via Whisper AI.