The Point: Greg Abbott’s fight to keep Trump's border wall dream alive

View this email in your browser   June 28, 2021  | by Lauren Dezenski and Sonnet Swire Texas' fight to keep Trump's border wall dream alive Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is pulling out all the stops to build a border wall between his state and Mexico, and a new poll shows that his base is all for it.    Texas Republicans are overwhelmingly supportive of Abbott's border wall effort: 89% support it and only 8% are opposed, according to a recent Quinnipiac poll. Overall, 50% of Texas voters support it, while 46% are opposed.   Abbott, a Republican up for reelection in 2022, is even soliciting private donations to help make it possible. In just one week, Texas received $459,000 in private donations for its planned wall at the southern border, according to numbers from Abbott's office, the Texas Tribune reported on June 23.    The Republican governor has yet to release a cost estimate, timeline or specific locations for the project, though he told the Texas Tribune that "hundreds of miles" of wall would be built.    While nearly half a million dollars is a sizable chunk of cash for a crowdsourced fundraiser, it appears to be a drop in the bucket compared with the potential cost of the wall. Already Abbott has sought to divert millions in federal funds intended for Covid-19 relief to the wall effort -- and Texas Democrats are not happy about it. That's on top of the $250 million "down payment" coming out of the state's budget.    The border wall is still a potent symbol with the GOP base, a sign of former President Donald Trump's steady hold on the party, even though Trump oversaw only partial construction and reconstruction during his presidential tenure.    The wall is clearly still on Trump's mind, too. Abbott and the former President plan to visit the southern border together on Wednesday. Abbott's reelection bid has been endorsed by Trump. He is also considered a potential 2024 contender.    Abbott's border wall runs counter to President Joe Biden's policy, which took aim at Trump's. On Biden's first day in office, he moved to end the national emergency declaration that had allowed Trump to dip into additional funds for the wall and he paused wall construction projects until further review.   There is some precedent to what Abbott is doing. Republican lawmakers in Arizona tried a similar crowdfunding effort in the 2010s, but it ultimately backfired. And then there's the effort by the Steve Bannon-backed group We Build the Wall ... which was charged by the Justice Department with defrauding donors.    Abbott has pledged "great transparency" on the Texas border wall project, saying that "everyone will know every penny in, every penny out, but the sole purpose for those funds will be going to build the border wall."   The Point: Abbott's border wall gamble lets him push for a popular GOP pet project AND raise his profile nationally as he runs for reelection. Convenient!   -- Lauren QUOTE OF THE DAY "Are we alone? Personally, I don't think we are." -- NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, who has read the classified version of the US intelligence report on the series of UFO sightings by Navy pilots and others, said he feels that we may not be alone in this galaxy. ICYMI, check out Chris' 8 takeaways from the government's UFO report. MEANWHILE, IN MICHIGAN Last week, a Republican-led state committee in Michigan wrapped up an investigation of the 2020 presidential election in the state and found "no evidence of widespread or systemic fraud."    Which brings us to this week. GOP lawmakers in Michigan are still moving forward with a package of election law revisions first proposed in March that would, essentially, make it harder for Michiganders to vote.    Michigan already requires voters to present ID at the polls. Voters who don't have ID when they show up can sign an affidavit affirming their identity and vote normally. But one measure, which passed the House along a party-line vote (the same day the report was released!), would eliminate that option. Instead, voters who don't present ID on Election Day would have to cast provisional ballots.    Another bill, which also passed the House, would allow those provisional ballots to be counted only if voters go to their local clerks' offices to present ID within six days of the election.    The voter ID bills are now headed for the state Senate, where Republicans also have the majority. Both measures still must clear key hurdles before being signed into law, including likely opposition from Democrats, including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.   -- Sonnet LAUREN'S GOOD READS Don't miss this excerpt in The Atlantic from Michael Wolff's new book about Trump and January 6.   CNN has a great look at how President Biden's airstrikes against Iran-backed militia groups launched a debate in Congress over the US' war powers.   What's next for Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan? The Washingtonian investigates.   Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is trying not to poke the bear (former President Trump), according to Politico.   There's no easy answer to why some young people aren't getting the Covid-19 shot, The New York Times reports.   This headline from CNN's fact checker extraordinaire Daniel Dale says it all: "Madison Cawthorn, self-described 'big history buff,' keeps getting historical facts wrong."    Does the UK have a royal Boaty McBoondoggle on its hands? The New York Times investigates. MUSICAL INTERLUDE Delta Spirit's melancholy but boppy "What is There" was one of Point editor Leigh's favorite quarantine albums. Matthew Logan Vasquez and crew are back with an expanded(!) edition for 2021, called "What (Else) is There." TOP TWEETS 1. "The good old days."  2. This otter in Oregon knows how to keep cool! 3. Never change, Marty Baron. 4. Press on, indeed. 5. This is art. ONE BIG 💉 SHIPMENT 2 million The number of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine doses the United States shipped to Peru on Monday morning, a White House official told CNN. The US also shipped 2.5 million doses of the Moderna vaccine to Pakistan on Monday through COVAX, the World Health Organization-run global vaccination program. You are receiving this message because you subscribed to CNN's The Point with Chris Cillizza newsletter. Unsubscribe from this list Check out other CNN Newsletters Create your CNN Account Share the Point Newsletter Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get The Point in your inbox.   Send your tips and thoughts via email to Chris Cillizza and Lauren Dezenski. You can follow Chris and Lauren on Twitter and connect with The Point on: Our mailing address is: One CNN Center Atlanta, GA 30303   Copyright © 2021 Cable News Network, Inc., All rights reserved.

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