Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry shot back at his GOP presidential rival, Donald Trump, on Thursday after Trump said Perry had "failed totally" on securing the Texas-Mexico border.
Perry issued a statement, saying Trump doesn't understand that border security is a federal issue, and that he took on the job in his state after President Barack Obama failed to take action,
Mediaite reports.
"Rather than thanking Texas for stepping in to a gap it shouldn’t have to fill, Mr. Trump has made clear that he believes the states should fend for themselves on border security," Perry said.
Perry then blasted Trump for his campaign style, which Perry previously has described as "shooting from the hip."
"I have a message for my fellow Republicans and the independents who will be voting in the primary process: What Mr. Trump is offering is not conservatism, it is Trump-ism
— a toxic mix of demagoguery and nonsense," Perry wrote.
America doesn’t need another president who pays "lip service" on issues of national security, Perry said, but someone who will take action on the border. Trump, he said, has done nothing to prove he would be that action-taking president.
Perry also
appeared on "Fox & Friends" on Thursday, where he took on Trump's assertions.
"We not only had our Texas Ranger recon, parks and wildlife wardens, we had 1,000 National Guard troops on the border," Perry said. "We saw a 74 percent decrease in number of apprehensions. I don't consider that to be a failure."
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