riverboat queen movie

The African Queen

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Brief Synopsis

Cast & crew, john huston, humphrey bogart, katharine hepburn, robert morley, theodore bikel, photos & videos, technical specs.

In September 1914 in the German East African village of Kungdu, British Reverend Samuel Sayer and his spinster sister Rose lead prayers at the makeshift First Methodist Church. The natives struggle to follow the English psalm, but race outside when they hear Canadian Charlie Allnut's ancient launch the African Queen chug into the village, laden with mail and goods. Though conscious of his lower social standing, Charlie lunches with the Sayers, who delicately ignore his rumbling stomach. Before leaving, he informs them about the encroaching war in Europe, and although the Sayers are frightened, they refuse to desert the village. Only hours later, however, German troops invade Kungdu, imprison the natives and burn down the huts. By the time the smoke clears, Samuel has begun to lose his mind from shock and grief. He soon collapses, unintentionally wounding Rose by raving that their attraction to missionary work grew out of a lack of more attractive social options. When Charlie returns to the destroyed village the next day, he finds Samuel dead, and helps Rose bury him. She then accepts Charlie's offer to hide from the Germans on his boat. Once they are on the river, Charlie explains that the Germans have positioned a heavily armed steamer, the Louisa , at the mouth of Lake Tanganyika to block British troops. Rose immediately forms a plan to attack the Louisa by crafting torpedoes out of explosives and an oxygen tank, strapping them to the African Queen and ramming into the steamer. Charlie tries desperately to dissuade her, describing the German fort and impassable rapids they will have to face along the way, but Rose's determination eventually shames him into agreeing to the plan. After they set sail, he teaches Rose how to read the river, and they negotiate how to bathe in private. That night, a pouring rain forces Charlie to seek shelter under Rose's tarpaulin, and after at first banishing him, Rose softens and allows him to sleep near her. They reach the first set of rapids the next afternoon, and Charlie's hopes that the death-defying experience will frighten Rose are dashed after she proclaims it the most stimulating physical experience she has ever had. At night, a frustrated Charlie taps into his gin reserves and later rants drunkenly that he will not sail any farther, calling Rose a "skinny old maid." He awakes the next morning to find her pouring each of his gin bottles into the ocean. Hours later, he begs her to speak to him, and she finally reveals that it is his refusal to sail which has infuriated her. Charlie yells but then quickly backs down, agreeing to accompany her while doubting their chances for success. Their first obstacle is the German fort, where the soldiers open fire on the African Queen . The engine is hit, but Charlie repairs it and they sail on. Immediately afterward, they reach another set of rapids. Rose struggles to steer while Charlie races to keep the engine stoked, and although they are badly pummeled, they miraculously reach calm waters. Thrilled, Charlie and Rose fall into an embrace which quickly becomes romantic. Later, as they declare their love, they finally learn each other's first name. They then sail peacefully past exotic flora and fauna until they hit a waterfall, which damages the rudder. Although Charlie despairs, Rose devises a plan to weld a new rudder, and days later, the boat is fixed. Just miles down the river, however, they are attacked by a horde of mosquitoes, which terrifies Rose and forces them to stay in open water. Within days, they become lost in the stagnant shallows. Thick reeds bog down the boat, forcing Charlie to pull it through the water. When he finally boards again, exhausted, he finds leeches covering his body, and even though he is shaking with revulsion, he must return to the water to keep the boat moving. Hours later, they reach land, where Charlie feverishly tells Rose they may not make it but that he loves her. They both collapse into sleep, and during the night, a fresh rain sweeps the launch downstream onto Lake Tanganyika. They awaken to find the Louisa only miles away, and retreat into the reeds to hide. By the next day, they have discerned the ship's sailing pattern and Charlie makes the torpedoes. They set out on their attack that night, but a sudden storm capsizes the launch and Rose and Charlie are separated in the dark. Charlie is imprisoned by the Germans and, not wanting to live without Rose, accepts his sentence of hanging. Just then, however, Rose is brought in, and when she hears that Charlie is to be killed, proudly admits their whole scheme to the soldiers. Before they are hanged, Charlie requests that the captain marry them, and just as the service ends, the African Queen surfaces, hits the Louisa and explodes. Floating together in the water, the newlyweds see the boat's nameplate, realize that their plan has succeeded after all, and happily swim toward the shore.

Waler Gotell

Peter swanwick, richard marner, john von kotze, harry arbour, angela allen, eileen bates, jack cardiff, john collier, connie de pinna, norman del mar, s. p. eagle, george frost, guy hamilton, john hoesli, ralph kemplen, doris langley moore, t. s. lyndon-haynes, john mitchell, cliff richardson, wilfred shingleton, the royal philharmonic orchestra, peter viertel, photo collections.

Award Nominations

Best screenplay, best actress, best director, the african queen - the essentials.

Trivia & Fun Facts About THE AFRICAN QUEEN

Trivia & fun facts about the african queen, the big idea, behind the camera -.the african queen, the critics corner: the african queen.

Well I ain't sorry for you no more, ya crazy, psalm-singing, skinny old maid! - Charlie Allnut

We can't do that! - Charlie

How do you know? You never tried it. - Rose

Well, yeah, but I never tried shooting myself in the head neither. - Charlie

I don't know why the Germans would want this God-forsaken place. - Charlie Allnut

God has not forsaken this place, Mr. Allnut, as my brother's presence here bears witness. - Rose Sayer

How'd you like it? - Charlie Allnut

Like it? - Rose Sayer

White water rapids! - Charlie Allnut

I never dreamed... - Rose Sayer

I don't blame you for being scared - not one bit. Nobody with good sense ain't scared of white water... - Charlie Allnut

I never dreamed that any mere physical experience could be so stimulating! - Rose Sayer

Nature, Mr. Allnut, is what we are put in this world to rise above. - Rose Sayer

By the authority vested in me by Kaiser William II, I pronounce you man and wife. Proceed with the execution. - Captain of Louisa

The first choices for the lead roles were John Mills and Bette Davis.

The scenes in the reed-filled riverbank were filmed in Dalyan, Turkey.

Originally offered to Bette Davis in 1938, the film would have co-starred David Nivenas Charlie. It was offered to Davis again in 1947, this time to co-star James Mason, but she had to pull out of the project due to pregnancy. In 1949, Davis tried again to make the film, but by that time plans were under way for Katharine Hepburn to star.

This is the role that won Humphrey Bogart the only Oscar of his career.

Known as the "LS Livingston", the "Queen of Africa" was a working steam boat for 40 years prior to it being "cast" in the movie.

Robert Morley's onscreen opening credit reads: "with Robert Morley as The Brother." As noted in contemporary sources, Warner Bros. purchased the rights to C. S. Forester's novel in 1946. At that time, Bette Davis, Ida Lupino and Olivia de Havilland were mentioned as possible stars. According to Variety news items in 1949, John Collier wrote a screenplay for Warner Bros. that was based closely on the book, then bought the rights to the book and screenplay from Warner Bros., planning to produce the film himself. Instead, he sold the book and script to Horizon Enterprises, which was co-owned by John Huston and Sam Spiegel (credited onscreen under his frequent pseudonym, S. P. Eagle). In Huston's autobiography, however, he recalled having bought the script directly from Warner Bros. Some modern sources claim that Columbia originally bought the novel as a vehicle for Elsa Lanchester and Charles Laughton, and that at one point David Niven and Paul Henreid were each considered for the male lead.        As noted in the onscreen credits, The African Queen was shot mainly on location in the Belgian Congo (which was identified in the film as German East Africa, the name by which it was known during the story's World War I time period, and which went by the name of Zaire from 1960-1997, when it took on its current appellation, The Democratic Republic of Congo), in Uganda and on the Murchison Falls on the border of Lake Albert. According to United Artists press materials and Huston's autobiography, the director built a camp to house the cast and crew in Biondo, outside the town of Stanleyville, which included a bar, a restaurant and several one-room bungalows.        Press releases report that, because the African Queen launch used in the film was too small to carry cameras and equipment, portions of the boat were reproduced on a large raft in order to shoot close-ups of Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn. Interior and water-tank scenes were filmed in London, as were most of the scenes containing secondary characters. Robert Morley shot all of his scenes in London, including the footage of him preaching, which was then edited together with shots of the natives praying, that had been filmed in Africa. Although the onscreen credits state that some scenes were shot at the Isleworth Studios in London, press materials name the studio as Worton Hall.        Modern sources add the following information about the production: While Huston and James Agee began to adapt the book into a new screenplay, Spiegel secured a loan from Sound Services, Inc. and co-financing from United Artists Corp. and London's Romulus Films, Ltd., which was co-owned by brothers John and James Woolf. At that point, Romulus secured the European distribution rights to the film, while United Artists was awarded distribution rights in the Western hemisphere. During the writing of the screenplay, Agee suffered a serious heart attack, and uncredited writer Peter Viertel wrote the film's final scenes with Huston. Forester had written two different final scenes for his book, one of which was published in England and the other in America. In the more widely published American version, "Rose Sayer" and "Charlie Allnut" are turned over to British officers, who then blow up the Louisa . In Collier's script, the African Queen hits the Louisa and destroys it, after which Rose and Charlie walk down the beach to inform the British Army that their way is now clear. In a modern interview, Viertel stated that since he and Huston wanted Rose and Charlie to be together at the final scene, they anticipated possible censorship problems by inventing a way for the couple to be married on the German ship.        Hepburn, in her written account of the film's production entitled The Making of "The African Queen," or How I Went to Africa with Bogie, Bacall and Huston and Almost Lost My Mind , described the first day of shooting, which required five cars and trucks to take the cast, crew and equipment three and a half miles from Biondo to the Ruiki river, at which point they loaded everything onto boats and sailed another two and a half miles to the shooting location. Press materials and contemporary articles detail the various perils of shooting on location in Africa, including dysentery, malaria, bacteria-filled drinking water and several close brushes with wild animals and poisonous snakes. Most of the cast and crew were sick for much of the filming. In a February 1952 New York Times article, Huston declared that he hired local natives to help the crew, but many would not show up for fear that the filmmakers were cannibals. Huston advised Hepburn to play Rose by keeping in mind Eleanor Roosevelt's slightly superior, but polite, public bearing, and in Hepburn's book she called the suggestion the "best piece of direction I have ever heard."        Modern sources add the following names to the crew credits: Boom boy Kevin McClory; Cooks M. Van Thoms, Mme. Van Thoms; Camp manager Geoffrey Dunes; Katharine Hepburn's personal asst in Africa Tahili Bokumba; and Pilots Alec Noon, John "Hank" Hankins. The film had its premiere in Los Angeles on December 26, 1951 in order to qualify it for that year's Academy Awards. Although the picture earned nominations in the Best Actor (Bogart), Best Actress (Hepburn), Best Director and Best Screenplay categories, only Bogart won.        Shortly after filming was completed, Belgian fan magazine Cine-Revue published an article allegedly written by Lauren Bacall, who had accompanied her husband, Bogart, on location, which included behind-the-scenes photographs. According to a March 1952 Daily Variety story, Romulus Films protested the publication of the photos, which they said "dispelled the film's illusion" by exposing private shooting information. Bacall denied having written the story. An August 1952 Variety item announced that Berlin's film trade union requested that The African Queen be withdrawn from the Berlin Film Festival because of its "anti-German tendencies."        In October 1952, Daily Variety reported that agents Michael Baird and Alvin Manuel were suing Horizon Pictures, Inc., Horizon Enterprises, Spiegel and Huston for ten percent of the film's profits plus seven percent interest. The agents claimed that in 1949, Horizon promised them the ten percent in return for setting up a co-production deal with Romulus. A February 1953 Hollywood Reporter news item announced the Jack Broder's Shamark Enterprises had put an attachment on funds due to Horizon from United Artists for distribution of The African Queen . The attachment stemmed from a suit Broder brought against Horizon for $120,000 in commissions due for helping finance earlier films. In December 1952, Spiegel and his wife Lynne began divorce procedures which entailed ascertaining all of Spiegel's assets. As a result, full disclosure of all financial records of The African Queen were made public. A Los Angeles Examiner article detailed the profits and salaries paid out to parties including Bogart, Hepburn, Collier and Romulus. Horizon Enterprises sued United Artists in 1955, according to a November 1955 Daily Variety article, for $61,859 still owed to them as part of the distribution deal. The dispositions of these suits are not known.        In 1953, Viertel published the book White Hunter, Black Heart , a thinly fictionalized account of his experience writing the script for The African Queen with Huston. The book follows the exploits of a tyrannical director who stalls the production of his African-set film by obsessively hunting an elephant. It was made into a film in 1990 by Clint Eastwood and starred Eastwood and Jeff Fahey. In an August 1990 letter published in The Times (London) , John Woolf protested the film's portrayal of Huston.        Although Hollywood Reporter stated in January 1952 that a sequel to The African Queen was being discussed, none was ever made. On March 18, 1977, the CBS network broadcast a television pilot based on the film, also titled The African Queen , but the series was never produced. On December 15, 1952, Bogart reprised his role for a Lux Radio Theatre broadcast, which co-starred Greer Garson as Rose. According to a 1990 news item in Variety , the boat that stood in for the African Queen , the Liemba , was purchased by a Bogart fan and brought from its mooring in Lake Tanganyike, Africa to Key Largo, FL.

Miscellaneous Notes

Based on the novel "The African Queen" by C. S. Forester (London, 1935).

Warner Bros. purchased the rights to C. S. Forester's novel in 1946. At that time, Bette Davis, Ida Lupino and Olivia de Havilland were mentioned as possible stars.

Released in USA on video.

Print restored in 2010 by Paramount Pictures and ITV, and sponsored by Angelica Huston.

Selected in 1994 for inclusion in the Library of Congress' National Film Registry.

Re-released in Paris February 13, 1991.

Released in United States 1973 (Shown at FILMEX: Los Angeles International Film Exposition (Great American Films) November 15 - December 16, 1973.)

Released in United States 1978 (Shown at FILMEX: Los Angeles International Film Exposition (Special Programs - "Salute to Oscar" - Filmex Marathon) April 13 - May 7, 1978.)

Released in United States 1973

Released in United States 1978

Released in United States May 2010

Released in United States Spring March 21, 1952

Shown at Cannes Film Festival (Restored Print/Cannes Classics) May 12-23, 2010.

Released in United States May 2010 (Shown at Cannes Film Festival (Restored Print/Cannes Classics) May 12-23, 2010.)

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River Queen

Film (trailer and excerpts) – 2005.

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Vincent Ward's fifth feature follows an Irishwoman in 1860s New Zealand, as Māori tribes resist the occupation of their land by the British. Sarah (Samantha Morton) has had an affair with a Māori and borne his child. Years later the boy is kidnapped by his grandfather, a powerful tribal leader. Sarah embarks on a search for her child, aided by warrior Wiremu (Cliff Curtis). When she finds him, both mother and son must decide to which culture they belong. This excerpt from the notoriously ambitious film sees Sarah encountering charismatic chief Te Kai Po (Temuera Morrison).

…a viscerally engaging adventure that works the emotions. – Empire magazine review by Luke Goodsell

Key Cast & Crew

Cliff Curtis

Don Reynolds

Vincent Ward

Writer, Director

Kayte Ferguson

As: Tangamoko

Produced by

Silverscreen Films

The Film Consortium

New Zealand Film Commission

Acknowledgements

Financed by the New Zealand Film Production Fund, the NZ Film Commission , The Film Consortium, The UK Film Council, Endgame and Invicta.

• colonialism
• inter-racial relationships

More Information

Press kit for the film (scroll down), NZ Film Commission website

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River Queen

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In 1860s New Zealand, a young Irish woman finds herself caught on both sides of the lines during the wars between Māori tribes and the British colonial army. With darkness all around, and desperate to find her son, she discovers that only the heart can see…

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River Queen (2005) Stream and Watch Online

Watch 'River Queen' Online

Fancy watching ' River Queen ' on your TV or mobile device at home? Tracking down a streaming service to buy, rent, download, or watch the Vincent Ward-directed movie via subscription can be confusing, so we here at Moviefone want to take the pressure off. Below, you'll find a number of top-tier streaming and cable services - including rental, purchase, and subscription options - along with the availability of 'River Queen' on each platform when they are available. Now, before we get into the nitty-gritty of how you can watch 'River Queen' right now, here are some specifics about the Silverscreen Films adventure flick. Released September 12th, 2005, 'River Queen' stars Samantha Morton , Kiefer Sutherland , Cliff Curtis , Stephen Rea The R movie has a runtime of about 1 hr 54 min, and received a user score of 59 (out of 100) on TMDb, which assembled reviews from 27 knowledgeable users. Curious to know what the movie's about? Here's the plot: "An intimate story set during the 1860s in which a young Irish woman Sarah and her family find themselves on both sides of the turbulent wars between British and Maori during the British colonization of New Zealand." 'River Queen' is currently available to rent, purchase, or stream via subscription on Amazon Video, Vudu, VUDU Free, Plex, The Roku Channel, and Apple iTunes .

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An intimate story set during the 1860s in which a young Irish woman Sarah and her family find themselves on both sides of the turbulent wars between British and Maori during the British colonization of New Zealand.

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River Queen Film Review – An Emotional Historical Drama

River Queen is the story of Sarah O’Brien (otherwise known as ‘Queenie’),  inspired by the tales of two women in New Zealand and the Chief Riwha Titokowaru who led the last resistance movement against the advancing British Army. Sarah O’Brien is inspired by the true stories of Caroline Perret and Ann Evans. Caroline Perret was taken as a child after her father broke a land taboo and was only found by family years later, having refused to come home. Ann Evans was a Crimean War nurse who was kidnapped and taken blindfolded to heal Titokowaru before being safely returned. Apparently, there were many ‘Pakeha’ women taken at the time by Maori tribesmen.

River Queen is set in 1860’s New Zealand as Sarah and her father, an Irish doctor, are living on the frontier – the last military outpost before Maori territory began. Some years previously she had fallen in love with a Maori boy named Tommy and became pregnant, but soon after he and most of his village died of influenza. Left alone to raise a ‘half-caste’ child in a hostile environment with a father who considers her a disgrace, her only friend is Private Doyle, a disillusioned soldier. When her son, Boy, is kidnapped by his other grandfather, Rangi, Sarah tirelessly searches for him.

Seven years later, the outpost is attacked by rebel chief Te Kai Po and Rangi is killed in the conflict. Believing her only link to her boy to be dead, Sarah allows herself to be taken back to a British camp. Here she meets a man who fights for the British but secretly works for Te Kai Po. He also has a link to her past. He brings her blindfolded to his village so that she may heal the chief in exchange for the opportunity to see her son. She settles into life in the village, but is about to be put in the middle of a territory war in which she has conflicting loyalties.

I really liked the character of Sarah who was refreshingly active, direct and determined to get her son back. The action is fascinating, though at times overshadowed by the sheer magnificence of the country which becomes a character in its own right. It’s not a story I have seen before and was interested to know more about New Zealand’s past.

The cast are all superb with the main bulk of the film riding on the shoulders of Samantha Morton, who is fantastic and extremely sympathetic. Kiefer Sutherland, Cliff Curtis, Temeura Morrison and Stephan Rea are also good, playing complex people dealing with a harsh environment as best they can. The main villain is a rather disappointingly stereotypical ruthless English Commander that even Anton Lesser can do very little with. He is also unfortunately the only prominent English character in the film.

The soundtrack by Clive Jenkins is epic sounding and interesting, employing a Maori chorus and Irish folk songs to demonstrate the contrasting worlds that clash in the film. The costume choices for Sarah are interesting; she is almost always in bright, bold colours, some of which are very military. This is a visual reminder that indicates to the audience her brave and stubborn character.

The film’s only real downfall, besides the predictable antagonist is the distinct lack of supporting women which is in no way believable given where she spends a large chunk of the film.

While Sarah has romantic options it is above all things a story about a mother’s search for her missing child and the war raging around her. Themes of clashing cultures, identity and family are prevalent in the film. It is an exciting story that introduced me to an unfamiliar part of colonial history. It is a unique and emotional historical drama, beautiful and thoughtful. I really recommend it.

Content Note: The film contains nudity, a brief sex scene, and frontier violence.

Photos: 20th Century Fox/Universal

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Elinor is a writer and semi-recent graduate of English and Creative Writing at Aberystwyth University. She has been writing ever since she could hold a pen but her love affair with fiction started when the entirety of David Eddings’ 'The Belgariad' was read to her at age four. She currently has a couple of books and half a dozen short stories on the go. She spends her free time writing, analysing media and knitting very colourful scarves.

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River Queen

Cast & crew.

Samantha Morton

Sarah O'Brien

Kiefer Sutherland

Cliff Curtis

Temuera Morrison

Anton Lesser

• Average 4.8

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© 2005 River Queen Productions LTD & RQ Film Production (UK) LTD.

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Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Feb 14, 2008

takes on the qualities of a disjointed vision, sometimes languid, sometimes violent, but always seeming to be only half-glimpsed on the threshold of sleep.

Full Review | Aug 6, 2007

An ambitious film from the talented, serious-minded Vincent Ward, River Queen takes us into the magnificent heart of New Zealand, both geographically and spiritually.

Full Review | Jun 28, 2006

A waterlogged would-be epic, lacking the emotion, narrative invention and visual brilliance that mark [Vincent] Ward's best films.

Full Review | Sep 29, 2005

River Queen is a period drama filled with some striking imagery but which ultimately keeps viewer involvement at an unfathomable distance.

Full Review | Sep 18, 2005

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Biden, Trump and a Split Screen at the Texas Border

The president and his likely election opponent visited the political hot spot on the same day and gave dueling speeches..

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email [email protected] with any questions.

From “The New York Times,” I’m Sabrina Tavernise, and this is “The Daily.”

On Thursday, the two presumptive nominees for President, Joe Biden and Donald Trump, traveled to Texas, where they gave dueling speeches on what is shaping up to be perhaps the most important issue in the 2024 election — the flow of migrants across the border.

Today, my colleague, White House correspondent Zolan Kanno-Youngs on Biden’s risky bid to take Trump’s biggest advantage and use it against him.

It’s Friday, March 1.

So Zolan, both President Biden and former President Trump visited the border in Texas on Thursday.

And it’s 6 PM. They just finished talking. And it was kind of this split-screen performance, right? These dueling speeches, one after the other. Tell us what happened.

Well, these dueling trips to the border really do show us that we are in the general election at this point. The fact that both of the likely nominees chose to travel to the border really does show you just how much immigration has risen to be one of the most important concerns amongst voters, and recent polling also shows that. And that coincides with a record number of crossings at the southwest border.

And it’s not just limited to states along the border, but you have migrant surges in cities throughout the United States. And it’s increasingly becoming a huge political vulnerability for the White House. And you see the former President trying to seize on that vulnerability.

OK. So that’s why these two men go down there. What do they say when they’re down there? Describe the scene for me.

What you saw were two different leaders who, in very different ways, tried to convince Americans that they are best suited to address this humanitarian issue.

That’s great, Governor. Thank you very much, everybody. This is an honor to be with you.

So for the former President, he goes to Eagle Pass, Texas, standing just near the Rio Grande.

Walls and wheels — I always said it’s one thing never gets obsolete — a wall and a wheel.

He’s near a makeshift border barrier topped with razor wire as well. So you see the optics of trying to look tough on the border. And he once again tried to seize on this issue to stoke division and hate.

Just four days ago, an illegal alien in Louisiana was arrested for brutally raping a 14-year-old girl while holding a knife to her throat. And he then allegedly robbed a man who was getting out of his car in front of his home and repeatedly stabbed him in the face, in the back, and the face, many, many times.

And he even used sort of warlike language when describing this issue.

— incredible. And I’ll say this. It’s a military operation.

He called it a “military operation.”

I mean, we have a military — this is like a war.

So you definitely saw the former President sort of return to that anti-immigration strategy to attack Democrats.

It’s an honor to have your support and your endorsement, and likewise, me to you. Thank you very much. Great to be here. Thank you.

So essentially, today, we saw Trump being Trump on immigration, doubling down on the same demagoguery that he’s been using, really, since he first declared his run for the presidency back in 2016.

Right. The rhetoric is familiar, but let’s be clear. What the former President is planning, if he’s elected, would go even further than the policies that we saw when he was in office. My colleagues have reported already that former President Trump is drawing up policies that take his immigration crackdown even further.

He’s planning on sending agents out into the country to round up undocumented immigrants, scale up as well giant camps to detain undocumented immigrants, reinstitute travel bans as well, including the travel bans that were against Muslim-majority countries when he was in office. They’re even considering trying to end birthright citizenship, which basically says that babies born in the United States to undocumented parents would be entitled to American citizenship.

Without a doubt, while former President Trump’s remarks today may seem familiar, you should know that what he’s planning, if he’s elected to office, would take his anti-immigration agenda a step further.

OK, so that’s the Trump side of the split screen. What did Biden do?

So in a way, when you look at President Biden’s remarks, it was very different.

Hello, folks. Good afternoon. Before we —

For one, he wasn’t in front of barriers or razor wire. He was inside a government facility, standing alongside border patrol agents, outlining a bill that was recently negotiated in the Senate.

Then months ago, my team began a serious negotiation and a bipartisan group of senators, Democrat leading, conservative Republicans —

This legislation would have enacted some of the more conservative changes to the border that we’ve seen in decades.

It’s the toughest set of border security reforms we’ve ever seen in this country. It’s pretty basic.

Rapidly turning away migrants at the border, also making it more difficult for migrants to obtain asylum at the border as well as bolstering resources at the border. It had a lot of the measures that Republicans have been calling for, for years, but House Republicans taking a cue from former President Trump, tanked that legislation. Many of them would prefer that it was an issue that could be used to attack the President and didn’t want to deliver him a policy win in an election year. And today, you saw President Biden criticizing them for it.

It’s time for the speakers and some of my Republican friends in Congress who are blocking this bill to show a little spine.

Saying that they were putting politics over, actually, solutions to this.

Let’s remember who we work for, for God’s sake. We work for the American people.

But then towards the end of his remarks —

I understand my predecessor’s in Eagle Pass today. So here’s what I would say to Mr. Trump.

We heard something that I haven’t heard before — a direct dare to former President Trump to actually join President Biden in working together to actually address this issue.

Join me, or I’ll join you in telling the Congress to pass this bipartisan border security bill. We can do it together. You know and I know, it’s the toughest, most efficient, most effective border security bill this country has ever seen.

And there, you really see, possibly more so than we’ve seen thus far in the Biden era, President Biden directly challenging the border security bona fides of the former President.

There’s nothing, nothing beyond our capacity, nothing, when we work together. And of all things we should be working together on is, this, we have the formula to get it done. God bless you all, and may God protect our border patrol, and God protect our troops. Now, I’d like to turn this over to Secretary Mayorkas. Thank you.

As someone who’s been covering this for some years now, I didn’t expect something that was as direct as those comments today. And it not only shows just how much Democrats are sort of intent on emphasizing border security in this election season, but it also affirmed that the White House is really going to lean into this strategy of going on the offensive on border security.

So this is interesting. So Biden is not only saying that he, too, cares about border security and he wants to really crack down on crossings — something we haven’t heard from Democrats so much of late — but now, he’s turning it around on the Republicans, right? Actually going on the offensive, saying, not only am I tough on this, they’re actually weak on this. Like, they’re the ones who won’t do anything to fix it. They’re the problem. It’s on them.

They’re the ones that are neglecting this crisis. We are the ones that are actually proposing solutions for this. But I have to say, this is really going to be challenging for the White House and President Biden.

You have this sort of real difficult balancing act of explaining the legislative challenges and talking about your legislative proposals for this crisis. But that’s going up against Trump’s strategy of stoking division and stoking anger on this issue. Former President Trump has proven that he can galvanize his base with his strategy. Whether or not this works, that’s something to watch, moving forward.

Right. It’s kind of a triple axel, right? Like, when you think about it, he’s trying to get a regular voter to see the border crisis, to look at what’s happening on the border. And instead of just blaming the guy in charge, him, he’s asking that voter to understand that there was this bipartisan bill in Congress, that Biden himself had endorsed it, was prepared to sign it — that he would have been tough on border issues, but that the Republicans wouldn’t bring it to a vote, because Trump didn’t want them to.

It’s not a simple message. It’s much easier for Trump. All he has to do is say, hey, the border is a mess. The other guy is in charge. Blame him.

Yes. I think that’s right. Even listening to his remarks today, there’s layers to it, right? He’s sort of trying to outline the legislative challenges here, which is, to be fair, very Biden. But without a doubt, what was surprising again is, for most of his time in office, immigration and the border has been a thorn in the President’s side, almost a political headache, something that Democrats tried to distance themselves from. Now, you’re seeing them lean in and emphasize border security and almost say, we are the ones that will address this issue.

We’ll be right back.

So Zolan, how did we get here? I mean, how did we go from Biden avoiding this immigration issue, like the plague, to kind of tiptoeing into it, to now trying to use it as a cudgel against Trump?

I mean, to understand this, you really have to go back to Biden’s 2020 campaign.

We believe in freedom of religion. That’s why we’ll end the Muslim ban.

This was, of course, after the anti-immigration agenda that President Trump implemented that included a travel ban against Muslim-majority countries.

They got separated from their parents. And it makes us a laughingstock and violates every notion of who we are as a nation.

And that included extreme policies at the border such as family separation that Democrats spent their time during the 2020 campaign condemning. So of course, coming into office, you had Democrats using language that was much more pro-immigration.

Within 100 days, I’m going to send to the United States Congress a pathway to citizenship for over 11 million undocumented people.

You heard the President pledge to restore humanity, order, compassion to the immigration system.

And those who come seeking asylum, we should immediately have the capacity to absorb them, keep them safe until they can be heard.

But practically, on the ground, there were some Trump-era policies that did stay in place. That included something known as Title 42. This was a pandemic emergency rule that essentially sealed the border to asylum seekers.

The administration also began to deport Haitian migrants back to Haiti as well. And there were photos of border patrol agents trying to keep migrants from entering into the country.

Right, I remember that.

So while, rhetorically, we were hearing often about compassion and humanity on the ground, we were seeing, once again, a reliance on deterrence.

OK, so during the campaign in 2020, he was kind of speaking the language of the left, in large part as a reaction to the extreme policies that Trump had enacted. But he quickly moderated.

Yeah, that’s right. And even though some of those policies were in place, the number of crossings continued to grow. Some of that’s outside of the president’s control. I mean, in the wake of the pandemic of climate change, of a global migration trend, as well as the perception that the election of President Biden would mean a more welcoming approach to the border, you had nationalities from all over the world attempting to cross into the United States.

And so as this problem continued to grow worse and crossings continued to surge, the pressure is really building on the White House. Republicans relentlessly are asking President Biden when he’s going to go to the border. I was actually with Vice President Kamala Harris when she traveled to Guatemala to address the root causes of migration.

And even there, she was being asked, Why are you here and not at the US-Mexico border? And initially, those requests were dismissed by top White House officials as, that’s just going to be sort of political theater. But eventually, they did succumb to the pressure and each make a visit to the border.

So Biden and Harris go to the border eventually. But there’s a real reluctance to engage with this at all, publicly.

Yeah, that’s right. So Republicans at the time really did sense an opening. And in the spring of 2022, we have a pivotal moment that we all know well by now. This is when Texas Governor Greg Abbott starts to put vulnerable migrant families and bus them to cities led by Democrats.

This continues to escalate. I remember getting a call one morning from a source who said that a bus of migrants had been dropped off in front of the Vice President’s residence as well.

Oh, my goodness.

And you know, it is important to remember, much of this was happening without giving a heads-up to some of the organizations or officials in these cities. One result, though, is this only exacerbates a humanitarian crisis, but also a political crisis for the White House.

And it causes, of course, a crisis for these cities, right? I mean, we’ve covered this in New York. Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Hochul are up in arms. They’re demanding funding from the federal government. They’re even going to Mexico to say, don’t come.

Exactly. So now, you have Democratic mayors that are saying they’re concerned not just about their municipal budgets, but also the political pressure that they are facing as well as more and more migrants are bused into these cities. And as a result, many of those Democratic leaders turn that pressure back on the White House and say, we need to get some control over this issue.

Right, they’re criticizing the Biden administration directly. Like, it’s not just Republican officials. It’s his own party coming after him for this.

That’s exactly right. And look. After a legal fight, Title 42 was lifted, and the administration is scrambling for solutions to the border. And then this interesting thing happens, which is that the issue of the border no longer just impacts immigration and the President’s domestic agenda, but also threatens to impact his foreign policy agenda.

Biden and the White House have seen rallying support for Ukraine as one of his crowning achievements. But Republicans increasingly make it clear that if he wants to continue to do that, they will only support him if he moves forward with changes at the border.

So while it might have seemed like the Republicans were actually forcing Biden to address the border, actually, Biden wanted to address the border for all the reasons you’re describing. And this was his chance to do it.

Right. So publicly, you would hear the White House at this point say, look, we need to pass this aid for Ukraine. Lives are at stake overseas. And the White House officials think that’s true, absolutely.

But I also talked to President’s allies, to Democrats, who were saying, hey, look, these negotiations here actually may present an opportunity. This may be a way to enact some of the policies that maybe, in closed-door meetings, we’ve discussed that we want, that we need, but in the past couldn’t speak about publicly, because of the backlash you would get from immigration advocates and the progressive flank of the party. But also, it could be a way for the President to say, look, Republicans, you guys have criticized me over this crisis throughout my presidency.

Well, here’s a solution. And it not only will be key for my foreign policy agenda, but it also is a way to actually implement some of the restrictions that have been so polarizing within the party in past years. But now is the time where we have an opportunity to implement some of those border restrictions.

So Senate Democrats and Senate Republicans at this point are working out a bill that would turn away many asylum seekers, make it harder to gain asylum while increasing resources at the border. The White House is sort of behind Senate Democrats, continuing to support that bill.

And you’re also seeing the President lean in a bit more into these negotiations. Towards the end of last year, while facing questions from reporters, there was a pivotal moment where he said, no, I am open to significant compromises at the border.

Yes, so this is the big shift, right? I mean, Biden is now seeing the immigration issue, and he’s endorsing some very, very restrictive policies on the border, not as a concession he’s willing to make just to get Ukraine funding. He’s actually seeing these very restrictive policies as good politics for him within his own party.

Right. And we continue to see the White House go even further in this direction. When the House Republicans sink this bill, taking a cue from former President Trump, who preferred that it be an issue to be used against the White House rather than a policy win for President Biden, you start to see the White House continue to lean in. He echoes the language once used by the Trump administration, saying, look, if you had sent me this bill, I would shut down the border.

And that leads to today, where you have really seen them try to attempt this offensive strategy. Remember, visiting the border was once something that was almost taboo within the party. You did it when you faced calls to visit.

But now, you have President Biden going, using the border as a backdrop and saying, no longer will the Democratic Party be accused of not putting forward solutions to this crisis, but actually, it’s the Republicans that are neglecting what is one of the more pressing issues in this nation.

OK, so that explains why Biden had decided to go on the offensive on this issue. But as we said, this is very hard, right? So let’s play this out. If this somehow works, what will Biden’s immigration strategy actually look like? I mean, for Biden to be on the offensive on this difficult issue as the campaign really ramps up.

Well, I think that you can expect him to continue to call Congress to do something about this. But let’s be clear. They are considering going at this themselves as well. My colleagues and I reported last week that the White House right now is considering executive actions that would essentially replicate some of what was being negotiated in that Senate bipartisan bill.

So that includes measures that would make it harder for migrants to obtain asylum at the border, and essentially allowing the President to shut down the border if crossings surpassed a certain amount. So that would be, I mean, a drastic change.

Very radical.

Right. I mean, it would be some of the most conservative, restrictive changes we’ve seen definitely under the Biden White House. But this is challenging. This is tricky, right? So for, really, throughout the Biden presidency, Republicans have been saying, there’s more you can do on the border by yourself, even though the President has said, Congress needs to take action on this issue.

Basically making the point that, hey, guy, if you’re doing this now, why didn’t you do it three years ago, right?

Why didn’t you do it three years ago, right. And I’ve already been told by border patrol agents and Trump allies that that is something that they would question the White House on if they issue these executive actions. And then also, he would face pressure as well from the progressive flank of his party.

You already have progressives that have said this strategy by the White House is sort of playing a game designed by Republicans in a way. Remember, progressives and Democrats have historically called for legalization as a tradeoff for border security. So if he moves forward with these actions, you have to wonder, would he face even more pressure from the progressive flank of his party?

So he’s getting squeezed politically. And then even if he was going to take action here, there’s also a question about whether he would even be able to implement it. Executive actions, when it comes to immigration, often run into legal trouble. They often run into the courts. So even if he were to go at it alone, you’re likely going to see a legal fight ensue.

OK, so this is very fraught on a number of different fronts. And if it kind of backfires, really, it leaves him out there in the wind, drawing lots of attention to his biggest vulnerability, in front of the whole country. Like, he could end up looking really bad, not just to the people who want him to be tough on the border, but also to the progressives who are mad that he’s trying to do this in the first place.

I think that’s right. I mean, one thing that is certain about this shift, this strategy by the White House, is it’s going to put the spotlight on this crisis. It’s going to put the spotlight on this issue. It’s going to put the spotlight on a policy that, historically, Republicans have wanted more attention on.

So look, the White House has been squeezed on the border and immigration since President Biden came into office. There’s no easy solutions for really addressing it. And all of that amounts to why it’s one of the more frustrating issues that he currently has.

But then again, if — and it’s a big if, of course — Biden is able to pull off that high-wire act of turning this issue back on the Republicans, and Trump specifically, it will have neutralized what has been a very potent issue for the Republicans, which would kind justify the risk, right?

I think that’s right. And that’s certainly what the White House is hoping for. This is all part of an effort to do a course correction in a way and sort of meet Americans where they’re at. And you know, polls indicate that Americans do want more restrictions at the border.

Just recent polling this week showed that immigration has surpassed the economy as the most important issue right now in this election cycle. Other polling as well showed that Americans do support some of the measures, the restrictive measures that were in that bipartisan Senate bill. So you can see why the White House is attempting this shift.

So actually, weirdly, this issue that’s been so contentious in our country is becoming something of a consensus issue.

In a way, yeah. I mean, I still think this is one of the more intractable, divisive issues facing the country. Many public officials prefer to attack their opponents over it, rather than actually solve it. But moving beyond just the politics, moving beyond just today, look, you’re right, there’s increasing support for border security measures in this country when you look at both parties.

And when you have the two leaders of each respective party that are both emphasizing that they are the right ones to implement those border security measures, it’s safe to assume that there’s increasing momentum for major changes, to the way that our country welcomes asylum seekers at the border.

Zolan, thank you.

Here’s what else you should know today. A federal court blocked a Texas law that would allow state and local police officers to arrest migrants crossing in from Mexico without authorization. The law had been set to take effect on March 5.

The ruling was a victory for the Biden administration, which had argued that the law would violate federal statutes and the Constitution, which gives authority over immigration matters to the federal government. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has aggressively worked to create a state-level system of border enforcement. He said he would appeal the decision immediately. And —

[CROWD CLAMORING]

— a convoy of trucks carrying food aid into Gaza City was overrun by thousands of desperate Gazans in the early hours of Thursday morning, prompting chaos and a response from nearby Israeli soldiers that left more than 100 people dead and another 700 wounded. The details of what happened were still unclear as of Thursday night.

Gazan authorities blamed the Israeli soldiers, saying that the deaths were caused by gunshot wounds Israeli officials countered, saying that the majority of those who had died had been killed in a stampede several hundred yards away. Gazans in the north of the territory have become increasingly desperate for food, as the United Nations and other relief groups have been largely unable to bring supplies due to impassable roads, risk from military operations, and increasingly, lawlessness and breakdown of social order after nearly five months of war.

Today’s episode was produced by Shannon Lin and Clare Toeniskoetter with help from Sydney Harper and Kate LoPresti. It was edited by Paige Cowett and Michael Benoist with help from Brendan Klinkenberg, contains original music by Marion Lozano, and was engineered by Alyssa Moxley. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly.

“The Daily” is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Christopher Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, MJ Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Michael Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schroeppel, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jodi Becker, Rikki Novetsky, John Ketchum, Nina Feldman, Will Reid, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Dan Farrell, Sophia Lanman, Shannon Lin, Diane Wong, Devin Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Summer Thomad, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez, and Brendan Klinkenberg.

Special thanks to Lisa Tobin, Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Sofia Milan, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Renan Borelli, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson, and Nina Lassam. That’s it for “The Daily.” I’m Sabrina Tavernise. See you on Monday.

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Hosted by Sabrina Tavernise

Featuring Zolan Kanno-Youngs

Produced by Shannon Lin and Clare Toeniskoetter

With Sydney Harper and Kate LoPresti

Edited by Paige Cowett ,  Michael Benoist and Brendan Klinkenberg

Original music by Dan Powell ,  Elisheba Ittoop and Marion Lozano

Engineered by Alyssa Moxley

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President Biden and Donald J. Trump both made appearances at the southern border on Thursday as they addressed an issue that is shaping up to be one of the most important in the 2024 election: immigration.

Zolan Kanno-Youngs, a White House correspondent for The Times, discusses Mr. Biden’s risky bid to take perhaps Trump’s biggest rallying point and use it against him.

On today’s episode

Zolan Kanno-Youngs , a White House correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading

In appearances some 300 miles apart, Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump tried to leverage a volatile policy dispute of the 2024 campaign.

How visiting the border has become a potent form of political theater .

There are a lot of ways to listen to The Daily. Here’s how.

We aim to make transcripts available the next workday after an episode’s publication. You can find them at the top of the page.

The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, John Ketchum, Nina Feldman, Will Reid, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Dan Farrell, Sophia Lanman, Shannon Lin, Diane Wong, Devon Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Summer Thomad, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez and Brendan Klinkenberg.

Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Sofia Milan, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Renan Borelli, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson and Nina Lassam.

Zolan Kanno-Youngs is a White House correspondent, covering President Biden and his administration. More about Zolan Kanno-Youngs

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