Trump congratulates Border Patrol agents for the record fentanyl bust, inviting a touch of ridicule

(Image credit: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)

published 1 February 2019

The seizure of $3.5 million worth of fentanyl at a U.S.-Mexico border crossing is a big deal — big enough, in fact, to earn a congratulatory tweet from President Trump.

Trump's past few days of tweeting have focused on his proposed border wall, so there was some puzzlement that he would weigh in on a drug bust that happened — like almost all drug seizures along the border — at a port of entry, not in un-walled stretches of desert. But Trump also mistakenly thanked U.S. Border Patrol agents, who had nothing to do with the fentanyl and methamphetamines bust — U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents work ports of entry. Washington Post national security and border reporter Nick Miroff is one of the many people who pointed out that Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection are different federal agencies.

Trump isn't generally lauded for his command of details, but border protection is sort of his signature issue these days.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.