Joe and Jill Biden visited Uvalde, Texas on Sunday, as a response to the shooting massacre that took place at Robb Elementary School, which has captivated the nation's attention.
The videos from various events that took place in the morning revealed an uneasy reaction. A controversy was triggered when the White House uninvited the vast majority of Border Patrol agents that were waiting to be invited to the president's private address on Sunday afternoon.
While the event is scheduled in a venue that could accommodate hundreds of people, over 90% of Border Patrol agents who were invited were informed that the time and space are not available and they are not able to attend. Over eighty Border Patrol agents, including some personnel from Border Patrol's BORTAC special response team, which was involved in the investigation into the school shooting, were given the invitation. Then, late on Saturday evening, Border Patrol agents were informed the President was unable to meet with seven of the over 80 Border Patrol agents that were involved in the response in the aftermath of the incident.
The report states that the alteration has been blamed on “time and space,” despite the fact that the location hasn't been altered. The source who reported the move described it as happening in less than ideal times and accused him of moving to secure a desired photo-op.
The source claims mid-level management of the Border Patrol were tasked to determine who would attend the event and believes that those who are not were told that their part in the meeting was not important. “It appears now as if this planned meeting was nothing more than a photo opportunity with the law enforcement community,” the source claims.
I'm putting on my speculation cap. If I could guess why this change was introduced, I'd bet it's about the media coverage of the police response to the Uvalde shooting.
As RedState has documented, numerous irreparable choices were made that allowed the perpetrator to remain at the school for an hour. He was also out of the school for 12 minutes prior to being allowed to enter, with no police officers manning the entrance. It was not until Border Patrol agents decided to refuse to obey the Local Police that the suspect was snuffed out.
All in all, although the president might have liked to soak in an ocean of law enforcement in the beginning in order to win a public relations victory, while pushing gun laws, the tables have been turned with the failures of law enforcement being the main focus. What is the reason this has happened?
It's a bit weak to invite them in a situation that appears to be a good idea, but then remove them from the invitation because it doesn't match the story. In addition, it's true that the Border Patrol actually did the right thing by removing the perpetrator. However, Biden is anything but unpolitic and cynical.
