It was a bad week for Democrat leadership verbal gaffes with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., now under fire by conservatives for saying Florida needs illegal migrants around to "pick the crops down here."
First, President Joe Biden was asking for a woman he apparently forget had been killed in a car accident, then Vice President Kamala Harris suggested the rogue North Korea regime was in an "alliance" with the U.S.
Now, Pelosi is being called out for suggesting migrants are useful to "pick the crops."
"We have a shortage of workers in our country. And you see even in Florida, some of the farmers and the growers are saying, 'Why are you shipping these immigrants up north? We need them to pick the crops down here,'" Pelosi said during her weekly news conference.
Pelosi was attempting to make a call to "recognize the importance of newcomers to our nation," but she was called out for racism by critics, including the Republican National Committee.
"Nancy Pelosi thinks immigrants should be picking crops," RNC Latinos Twitter account wrote in a rebuke. "When Democrats show you their true colors, believe them."
The criticism was aimed at Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, who flew two chartered flights to Martha's Vineyard and has allocated $12 million to relocate illegal immigrants to sanctuary states and cities in the northern blue states.
"It's clear Pelosi and Democrats are exploiting illegal aliens and only view them as cheap labor," Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., tweeted Friday. "This is what real racism looks like."
After decades of political stalemate on immigration reform, what Republicans rebuke as open borders has led to even a Democrat leader admitted long-overdue immigration reform is finally needed. More than 2 million border apprehensions have set a record in the past 12 months under President Joe Biden.
"Right now, the best thing that we can do for our economy is comprehensive immigration reform," Pelosi said.
Republicans have long warned Democrats want more migrants in the U.S. for them to ultimately become more Democrat voters.
"For Democrats, mass immigration checks two boxes: 1. More future voters 2. Cheap foreign labor," the Federation of American Immigration Reform tweeted Friday.
But Republican strategists say the GOP must not allow Democrats to get away with their narratives in the midterms.
"Hard to believe immigrants who have become American citizens are starting to vote Republican when the leader of the congressional Democrat Party views them only as fruit pickers," Republican consultant Nathan Wurtzel tweeted.
More Republicans noted, including Newsmax host Rob Schmitt on "Rob Schmitt Tonight," former President Donald Trump would have been more heavily attacked if he had made a remark like Pelosi made.
"I want you to imagine for a second what would happen if Trump said 'we need the immigrants down south to pick our crops' instead of Pelosi," a social media influencer tweeted.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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