Trump, as well as Republican Senate candidate JD Vance, wasted no time in linking the violence to the southern border
In the wake of a deadly mass killing in New Orleans on Wednesday that left 15 dead, including the suspect, and dozens injured, political figures on the right—most notably former President Donald Trump—seized on the opportunity to stir
anti-immigrant sentiment
. Early reports, which wrongly tied the attack to the southern border, provided ammunition for an explosive narrative centered on immigration, even before the facts had been fully established.
The attack, initially reported by Fox News as potentially connected to the southern border, quickly spiraled into a frenzy of speculation from right-wing figures eager to tie the tragedy to President Joe Biden’s immigration policies.
Trump, as well as Republican Senate candidate JD Vance, wasted no time in linking the violence to the southern border. “When I said that the criminals coming in are far worse than the criminals we have in our country, that statement was constantly refuted by Democrats and the Fake News Media, but it turned out to be true,” Trump posted on Truth Social just hours after the incident. He went on to express condolences for the victims but included a pointed remark blaming border security under Biden’s administration.
Vance, who retweeted Trump’s post, echoed similar rhetoric, further fueling the narrative.
The frenzy was sparked by a faulty Fox News report that erroneously stated the vehicle involved in the attack had crossed the US-Mexico border just two days earlier. The network retracted the report by midday, acknowledging that the truck had entered the US on November 16 from Mexico but was driven by 42-year-old
Shamsud-Din Jabbar
, a US Army veteran with no direct ties to the border.
Despite the retraction, the misinformation had already spread like wildfire, particularly on platforms like X (formerly Twitter), where figures like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene were quick to amplify the false connection between the attack and illegal immigration. “New Orleans terrorist attacker is said to have come across the border in Eagle Pass TWO DAYS AGO!!!” Greene posted, calling for the closure of the US-Mexico border.
Even after the factual correction, Greene refused to retract her claims. In another post, she implied that the attacker had illegally entered the country, adding, “What did we expect with wide open borders and millions of gotaways?”
Republican figures continued to stoke the flames of division, using the attack as evidence of what they consider the failure of Biden’s immigration policies. Rep. Wesley Hunt, a Texas Republican and US Army veteran, wrote, “The devastating terror attack in New Orleans has left many Americans asking a sobering question: Has the enemy already infiltrated our borders due to Joe Biden’s incompetence and his failure to secure our homeland?”
