Republican Talk About Invading Mexico Is Dangerous and Unhinged
Recent Republican bluster about a possible US ground invasion in Mexico to go after drug cartels remains on the fringe. But as bipartisan support for the border wall shows, far-fetched ideas can quickly become plausible in the run-up to a presidential election.
A US Marine helicopter patrols above migrants gathered atop a train car near the border in Tijuana, Mexico. (Mario Tama / Getty Images)
It’s Mexico-bashing season in US politics again.
In 2016, Donald Trump’s campaign brought Mexican rapists, “bad hombres,” and “build the wall” into mainstream political discourse. This time around, the rhetoric has escalated further, no longer centered on a defensive wall alone but on an offensive campaign against Mexico, taking whatever form the feverish minds of the Republican primary contenders can come up with.
In response to a legitimate question by moderator Ilia Calderón at the September 27 debate to the effect that most fentanyl is smuggled across the Mexican border by US citizens at legal border crossings, Vivek Ramaswamy responded by advocating for “sealing the border” with the military, without explaining what that would entail or how trade would continue with the nation’s second-largest trading partner under those conditions.
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