Early Tuesday morning, March 26, Americans woke up to the shocking news that the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore had collapsed after being struck by a freighter. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, at a news conference, assured reporters that there was no sign of foul play or terrorism — an assurance also made by the Biden White House.
But Fox News' Maria Bartiromo, during a conversation with Sen. Rick Scott (R-Florida), tried to link the bridge's collapse to President Joe Biden's immigration policy.
Bartiromo noted that "the White House has issued a statement on this saying that there's no indication of nefarious intent in the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge." But she went on to tell Scott, "You've been talking a lot about the potential for wrongdoing or potential for foul play given the wide-open border…. Why have the Republicans had such a hard time securing this border? The president says he's not going to take executive action."
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Several journalists and political experts blasted Bartiromo's comments via X, formerly Twitter.
Democratic activist Harry Sisson tweeted, "Absolutely disgusting. On Fox News this morning, Maria Bartiromo tried to link the bridge collapse in Baltimore to the 'wide open border.' This is another example of why Fox News is garbage. They will do anything they can to blame Biden or minorities. WTF?"
Journalist Aaron Rupar also noted Bartiromo's attempt to "link" a bridge collapse in Baltimore to a "wide open border" thousands of miles away.
Democratic strategist Sawyer Hackett wrote, "Of course. Five hours after Maria Bartiromo said the Baltimore bridge collapse could be due to the 'wide open border,' we find out the missing men from the crew filling potholes on the bridge were from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico."
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