‘More important things going on,’ Biden says about visiting border during Arizona trip

WASHINGTON, DC (3TV/CBS 5) -- Just before getting on Air Force One Tuesday morning, a Fox News reporter questioned President Joe Biden about his visit to Arizona later in the day.

Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked the president: “Why go to a border state and not visit the border?” To which Biden responded, “because there are more important things going on; they’re going to invest billions of dollars in a new enterprise in the state.”

The enterprise that the president referred to is the TSMC semiconductor plant just off the Loop 303 and I-17 interchange on the north end of Phoenix.

Just hours before, the manufacturer announced they would increase their investment in Arizona to $40 billion by creating another microchip site. Such a move marks one of the “largest foreign direct investments in the history of the United States,” according to TSMC. More than 2,000 jobs could come as a result of the expansion. Biden is expected to attend with other key Arizona leaders.

Critics, particularly from conservative Republicans, have pressed the Democratic president for his administration’s response to the record number of migrants crossing into the United States from the southern border.

The Associated Press reported that “migrants were stopped 2.38 million times in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, up 37% from the year before.” Additionally, the annual total is more than twice the highest level during Donald Trump’s presidency in 2019, per the AP.

Last month, several media outlets reported that Chris Magnus, who previously served as Tucson’s police chief before becoming the head of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, was being forced out. Mangus was reportedly commissioner for less than a year.

Arizona Freedom Cactus, a right-wing group, responded to Biden’s statement moments later, saying in part that it “sees Biden’s weaponization of the invasion on America’s southern border as a clear and present threat to both national security and the safety of all Arizonans.”

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