Trump targets Tester over ‘open borders’

President Trump on Monday used the arrival of a so-called caravan of Central Americans at the U.S.-Mexico border to attack Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), who has fallen into the president’s crosshairs for releasing allegations that led to the withdrawal of Trump’s pick for Veterans Affairs (VA) secretary.

“The migrant ‘caravan’ that is openly defying our border shows how weak & ineffective U.S. immigration laws are,” Trump tweeted.

The migrant ‘caravan’ that is openly defying our border shows how weak & ineffective U.S. immigration laws are. Yet Democrats like Jon Tester continue to support the open borders agenda – Tester even voted to protect Sanctuary Cities. We need lawmakers who will put America First.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 30, 2018

The tweet referred to Tester’s vote in February that helped block a proposal that would have cracked down on cities that don’t comply with federal immigration law. 

{mosads}The president has taken aim at Tester in recent days after the Montana Democrat, who is up for reelection in a state Trump won, released a document that laid out allegations that Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, Trump’s VA secretary pick, drank on the job, overprescribed medication and fostered a hostile work environment as personal physician to the president.

The allegations were based on interviews with more than 20 current and former colleagues, the senator said.

Jackson and the White House have denied the allegations, but Jackson ultimately withdrew his nomination last week to lead the VA.

Since then, Trump has repeatedly said Tester deserves to lose his reelection bid, as well as that he should resign. Trump won Montana in the 2016 presidential election by roughly 20 points.

At a rally in Michigan on Saturday, Trump said he had dirt on Tester that he wasn’t yet sharing, calling him a “disgrace.”

“Tester started throwing out things that he’s heard. Well I know things about Tester that I could say, too,” Trump threatened. “And if I said them, he’d never be elected again.”

Tester has defended his actions as apolitical, saying that he was just making public allegations brought to his office.

“It’s not political. I am focused on making sure that we have the best person possible to run the VA. It’s a very, very important agency,” Tester said.