Friday’s edition of PBS News Hour attempted to use the 4th of July holiday to denounce President Trump’s immigrant enforcement efforts and portray them as contrary to the spirit of America, with Washington Post associate editor Jonathan Capehart going so far as to claim that his side represents the Statue of Liberty.
Host John Yang began, “We had a PBS News/NPR/Marist College poll out this week. And on this Fourth of July, it's sort of time to reflect on our nation and democracy. They asked Americans—about Americans' openness to people from around the world; 64 percent said it's essential to national identity; 35 percent says it risks the national identity.”
It’s a bad question. It says nothing about legal versus illegal immigration, nor does it define “people from around the world.” Are we talking about people fleeing dictatorships or people who want to “globalize the Intifada”?
Nevertheless, Yang continued, “How does this square with what President Trump is doing on immigration and mass deportations?”
New York Times columnist David Brooks simply replied, “It's the opposite” before recalling, “We have been a country of immigrants for— since we were before a country. And Americans still love pluralism and diversity. I was celebrating Independence Day and the birth of our country yesterday in Milan, but at a Bruce Springsteen concert. And he talked about exactly that, about the diversity of the country, the land he loves. He was so patriotic. And I felt very moved and tears coming to my eyes.”
Brooks did manage to concede, “People were upset at the anarchy in the southern border,” before concluding, “But we have never been a country that did not admire people who come here and work hard and make America what it is.”
For his part, Capehart gave a personal history lesson:
Yeah, I was giving a speech at the Adams Institute in Holland during Trump One, and in the middle — in the depth of Trump one, when we were worried about our country. And my host, we were in a cab heading to the event. And I noticed her lock screen on her phone, the Statue of Liberty. Here's this Dutch woman with the Statue of Liberty. It's said to me that America is still a beacon of hope for people around the world. And that's why that number is at 64 percent. That's why people look to the United States because of who we are, because of where we come from.
Capehart also added, “President Biden always said the United States is the only nation that was formed around an idea. And it's been successful because that idea is something that people from around the world, they can see themselves in it. And as long as we stay true to that, then, no matter who the president is, we will stay true to our founding and our founding principles, I think.”
Biden’s inability to control the border out of a desire to be Trump’s opposite is part of the reason why Trump is president again. Vaguely worded polls do not prove that the public has moved on from a desire for an orderly immigration system.
Here is a transcript for the July 4 show:
PBS News Hour
7/4/2025
7:40 PM ET
JOHN YANG: We had a PBS News/NPR/Marist College poll out this week. And on this Fourth of July, it's sort of time to reflect on our nation and democracy. They asked Americans—about Americans' openness to people from around the world; 64 percent said it's essential to national identity; 35 percent says it risks the national identity.
How does this square with what President Trump is doing on immigration and mass deportations?
DAVID BROOKS: It's the opposite. We have been a country of immigrants for— since we were before a country. And Americans still love pluralism and diversity. I was celebrating Independence Day and the birth of our country yesterday in Milan, but at a Bruce Springsteen concert.
And he talked about exactly that, about the diversity of the country, the land he loves. He was so patriotic. And I felt very moved and tears coming to my eyes. But so did the Italians. They love that version of America. And people — that is the thing people have always felt magnetized. We have a ton of Italian Americans in this country. They literally came here. And so that's the part of the country that has never changed. People were upset at the anarchy in the southern border. But we have never been a country that did not admire people who come here and work hard and make America what it is.
CAPEHART: Yeah, I was giving a speech at the Adams Institute in Holland during Trump One, and in the middle — in the depth of Trump one, when we were worried about our country.
And my host, we were in a cab heading to the event. And I noticed her lock screen on her phone, the Statue of Liberty. Here's this Dutch woman with the Statue of Liberty. It's said to me that America is still a beacon of hope for people around the world. And that's why that number is at 64 percent. That's why people look to the United States because of who we are, because of where we come from.
President Biden always said the United States is the only nation that was formed around an idea. And it's been successful because that idea is something that people from around the world, they can see themselves in it. And as long as we stay true to that, then, no matter who the president is, we will stay true to our founding and our founding principles, I think.
