Donald Trump Shows United Front With House GOP at Announcement of Bill Barring Illegals From Voting

By Becca Lower | 6:46 PM on April 12, 2024

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Standing shoulder to shoulder with Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump appeared at a Friday press conference at Mar-a-Lago. The purpose of the event was to announce the details of an upcoming Congressional bill to ensure illegal aliens don't hurt the integrity of U.S. elections in November--especially on the federal level.

Giving a glimpse of the day's tone, Trump was collegial about Johnson. He said, "He's doing a really good job under very tough circumstances and I appreciate that he came to Mar-a-Lago." Then the former president spoke about the chaos that the Southern border has become since Joe Biden was elected:

President Trump: "We have millions of people coming into our country... they come from all over the world. Not just South America, they're coming from all over the world." pic.twitter.com/WntmHmc3Mg
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) April 12, 2024

He added something that we already know--the chaos at the border is purposeful. "Biden should close the border immediately. I did it," he said:

PRESIDENT TRUMP: "Our country is like a dumping ground — and we're gonna have it STOPPED." pic.twitter.com/iLA208P1gC
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) April 12, 2024

Then it was Speaker Johnson's turn, whose remarks masterfully tied the Biden administration's border crisis to the urgent issue of election integrity in 2024:

Mike Johnson announces that House Republicans will be introducing a bill to require proof of citizenship to vote in US elections. pic.twitter.com/zAE7Nj19Ky
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) April 12, 2024

Johnson explained that since the passage of the so-called "motor voter" law in 1993, people have been allowed to "sign up to vote when they get a driver's license. If an individual asserts, or simply states that they are a citizen, they don't have to prove it."

In other words, that person can register at the same time to vote in a federal election. Here's another major problem, Johnson said:

The states are currently prohibited from asking someone to prove that they are a citizen....We think that's a serious problem. So, what [the House Republicans] are going to do is introduce a bill that will require proof of citizenship to vote. It seems like common sense....[that] we only want U.S. citizens to vote in U.S. elections.

He continued, saying that another part of the legislation will "require states" to clean up their voter rolls:

Mike Johnson: "Our bill also will require states to remove non-citizens from their existing voter rolls." pic.twitter.com/DCwmzJxPGT
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) April 12, 2024

Our bill also will require states to remove non-citizens from their existing voter rolls--that's a big problem, too--and it will provide access to databases from the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration to help the states administer this.
As the entity that is responsible for regulating federal elections, Congress has this responsibility. We cannot wait for widespread fraud to occur.

In recent days, Trump has shown some smart moves--both in making strides in retail politics and in standing as a united front with the Republican Party leading up to the convention this summer.

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It's good to see this happening, after months of hearing dissonant notes of division during the GOP primary. Hopefully, this is something that will continue--from all involved.