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Donald Trump and his Republican allies have used the terrorist attack in New Orleans to blame Joe Biden and deliver a final wave of criticism of his policies in the final weeks of his presidency.
The incident in which at least 15 people diedThe explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck outside Trump's hotel in Las Vegas has also fueled Republican narratives that crime is spiraling out of control — and that only Trump's new national security team and crackdown on immigration can solve the problem.
“With Biden's 'open borders policy,' I have said, many times during rallies and elsewhere, that radical Islamic terrorism, and other forms of violent crime, will become so bad in America that it will become difficult to even imagine or believe. He has “That time has come, and it is worse than we ever imagined.” Trump he wrote on Truth Social Thursday morning.
Trump et al Republicans He initially claimed – falsely – that the New Orleans attacker was an immigrant who crossed the southern border. Shams al-Din Jabbar, the suspect who authorities said was inspired by the ISIS terrorist group to carry out the attack during which he was killed, was a 42-year-old U.S. military veteran from Texas who worked for financial services groups including Accenture. And Deloitte.
The FBI said Thursday that he acted alone. The agency also said it had not proven any connection between the New Orleans attack and a cyber truck explosion in Nevada, which killed one person and injured seven others.
But Trump's allies are still doubling down on Biden's claims Immigration Politics – or immigration more generally – were behind the violence, reflecting the lines of attack used by Trump to defeat Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 US presidential race.
“Islamic terrorism is imported. “She's not local. She wasn't here before immigration brought her here,” Stephen Miller, Trump's senior adviser, wrote on X.
Tom Homan, Trump's border czar, told Fox News that the United States has been “lax” on national security, emboldening groups like ISIS. “President Trump will come into office and we will secure that border. We will perform a migration. “We focus and prioritize public safety threats and national security threats.”
Republicans close to Trump are also trying to capitalize on the attack to inject momentum into their campaign to ensure quick Senate confirmation of some of the president-elect's top national security jobs.
Pete Hegseth, Trump's pick for Defense Secretary, Tulsi Gabbard, his pick for Director of National Intelligence, and Kash Patel, his nominee to lead the FBI, are all controversial picks facing Senate confirmation battles in the coming weeks.
“The US Senate should confirm President Trump’s national security team as soon as possible. Lives depend on it,” John Barrasso, a Republican senator from Wyoming, wrote on X shortly after the attack in Louisiana.
“This is why the formation of President Trump’s Cabinet is so important,” Mike Waltz, the Florida congressman whom Trump appointed to be his national security adviser, told Fox News on Thursday. “This should be done on day one, guys, because this is a transitional moment of vulnerability.”
Deep skepticism on the part of Trump's allies in US federal law enforcement agencies also resurfaced after the New Orleans attack. Lawmakers close to the president-elect criticized the FBI for focusing too much on “diversity, equity and inclusion” and its role in Trump’s prosecution before the Justice Department.
Mike Collins, a Republican from Georgia, questioned why Alethea Duncan, the FBI special agent in charge in New Orleans, initially said the attack was not a “terrorist event.” Republican Representative from Iowa, Ashley Hinson, invited Christopher Wray, Director of the FBI, and Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security, to testify about the attack in Congress.
“The FBI needs to regain the trust of the American people. That means full transparency and accountability throughout this investigation. It also means eliminating DEI, awakening distractions, and focusing solely on combating threats to protect Americans,” Hinson wrote on X on Thursday.
Biden spoke on Wednesday about the attack in New Orleans and the investigation from Camp David, and met with his Homeland Security team to discuss the latest developments on Thursday.
For Trump's part, Waltz has been in contact with Jake Sullivan, Biden's national security adviser, but said they are not counting much on the outgoing administration.
“They're trying to piece together information. But we're not waiting for what we're just getting from this White House. Everyone's feeling out what they've got so we keep President Trump as informed as possible,” he said.
