Trump’s ICE airport idea came after a radio host pitched it on Fox News
“Linda from Arizona,” a caller on a conservative talk radio show, might deserve the credit or blame for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents deploying to airports across the United States today.
The caller said on “The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show” last Friday, “I think I have a solution to the TSA problem.” She said, “We need to bring in ICE agents.”
“It’s kind of a brilliant idea,” co-host Clay Travis said.
About 24 hours later, on Saturday afternoon, President Trump announced his vision for ICE agents at airports.
What happened in between? Travis appeared on one of Trump’s favorite Fox News shows and personally pitched the idea.
CNN searched TV transcript databases and found no other mentions of the idea on major networks until Travis brought it up.
On Monday, when ICE agents began the highly unusual and controversial assignment, Travis said, “I don’t think there’s any doubt” that the call to the radio show inspired Trump to take action.
“This is why I always say, this is the most influential radio platform on the planet,” he remarked.
“Well done, Linda,” co-host Buck Sexton added.
During a Monday morning press gaggle, when asked whose idea it was to deploy ICE to airports, Trump told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, “Mine. That was mine.”
He then likened the idea to inventing the paperclip. “It was so simple, and everybody that looked at it thought, ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’” he said. “ICE was my idea.”
However, “The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show,” which airs on local stations across the country, certainly believes their caller deserves credit for the idea.
On Saturday, the show’s Facebook page touted its influence: “On Friday, a caller named Linda proposed a brilliant idea. Friday night, Clay talked about it on Fox. Today, President Trump took the advice! Way to go, Linda.” [Continue reading…]